English

Alternative forms

• Michaell

Pronunciation

• enPR: mīʹkəl, IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪkəl/
• Rhymes: -aɪkəl

Proper noun

Michael

1. A male given name.
   • 1629, Thomas Adams, Meditations upon Creed, The Works of Thomas Adams, James Nichol (1862), volume 3, page 212:

     Yea, it seems to me not fit for Christian humility to call a man Gabriel or Michael, giving the names of angels to the sons of mortality.

   • 2008, Philip Hensher, The Northern Clemency, Harpercollins, ISBN 9780007174799, page 498:

     He works in the steelworks, the boyfriend, on the factory floor. I'd say that was quite unusual, he's called Michael. Insists on that, he does, not being called Mike or Micky or Mick, pretends not to hear you, then, "No, my name's actually Michael."

2. (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) An archangel associated with defending Israel in the tribulation.
   • 1611, Bible (KJV), Daniel 12:1:

     And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince that standeth for the children of thy people.

   • 1611, Bible (KJV), Revelation 12:7:

     And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon.

Synonyms

• (archangel): Provost of Heaven, Provost of Paradise

Derived terms

Related terms

• (pet forms): Mick, Mickey, Micky, Mike, Mikey
• (variants): Miles, Mitchell
• (feminine forms): Michaela, Michele, Michelle

Translations

Etymology 2

From German Michael.

Proper noun

Michael

1. A German male given name.

Translations

Statistics

Czech

Alternative forms

• Michal

Proper noun

Michael m

1. A male given name, cognate to English Michael.

Danish

Alternative forms

• Mikael

Etymology

From Vulgate Latin Michael, Michahel, from Hebrew מיכאל ‎(mikhael, “who is like God?”).

Proper noun

Michael

1. A common Danish male given name.

Related terms

• (male given names) Mike, Mikkel
• (female given names) Michala, Michella, Michelle
• (surnames) Michaelsen, Mikkelsen

References

• Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 60 908 males with the given name Michael (compared to 9 297 named Mikael) have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1960s. Accessed on 19 May, 2011.

German

Etymology

From Vulgate Latin Michael, Michahel, from Hebrew מיכאל ‎(mikhael, “who is like God?”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɪçaːʔeːl]
• Hyphenation: Mi‧cha‧el

Proper noun

Michael m ‎(genitive Michaels, diminutive Michi n, feminine Michaela)

1. A common German male given name.
2. Michael the Archangel.

Related terms

• Swiss German: Michi ( Zürich ), Michue ( Bern )

Descendants

Latin

Alternative forms

• Michāhēl (the spelling used in the Vulgate)

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek Μῐχᾱήλ ‎(Mikhāḗl), from the Hebrew מִיכָאֵל ‎(mikha'él, “Michael”, literally “Who is like God?”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /miˈkʰaː.eːl/

Proper noun

Michāēl m ‎(genitive Michāēlis); third declension

1. A male given name: Michael
   • ante AD 405, Biblia Vulgata, Num. 13:14:

     De tribu Aser, Sthur, filium Michahel.

     Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. ― World English Bible translation (Num. 13:13)

2. the Archangel Michael
   • ante AD 407, Biblia Vulgata, Dan. 10:13:

     Princeps autem regni Persarum restitit mihi viginti et uno diebus; et, ecce, Michahel, unus de principibus primis, venit in adiutorium meum: et ego remansi ibi iuxta regem Persarum.

     But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but, behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia. ― World English Bible translation

Declension

Third declension.

Derived terms

• Michaēlium

Related terms

• Michaeās
• Michās

Descendants

References

• Michāēl in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “Michael”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Michael in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray

Norwegian

Alternative forms

• Mikael

Etymology

From Vulgate Latin Michael, Michahel, from Hebrew מיכאל ‎(mikhael, “who is like God?”).

Proper noun

Michael

1. A male given name, spelling variant of Mikael.

References

• Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995, ISBN 82-521-4483-7
• Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 4192 males with the given name Michael (compared to 2365 named Mikael) living in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 1980s. Accessed on 19 May, 2011.

Swedish

Alternative forms

• Mikael

Etymology

From Vulgate Latin Michael, Michahel, from Hebrew מיכאל ‎(mikhael, “who is like God?”). First recorded as a given name in Sweden in the 13th century.

Proper noun

Michael

1. A male given name, a less common spelling of Mikael.

References

• Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, ISBN 91-21-10937-0
• Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, ISBN 9119551622: 38 690 males with the given name Michael (compared to 126 744 named Mikael) living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1960s. Accessed on May 19th, 2011.