English

Proper noun

Isabel

1. A female given name.
   • 1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: Act V, Scene I:

     Mariana. O my good lord! Sweet Isabel, take my part:

     Lend me your knees, and all my life to come,

     I'll lend you all my life to do you service.

   • 1852 D. H. Jacques, A Chapter on Names, The Knickerbocker, or, New-York Monthly Magazine, Volume XL, August 1852, page 119:

     There is a silvery bell-like music in the name, which is exceedingly attractive, and which has made it a favorite with the poets. - - - Mary Howitt, in her Flower comparisons, has the following melodious lines:

     Now for mad-cap Isabel: / What shall suit her, pr'y thee tell? / Isabel is brown and wild; /Will be evermore a child;

   • 1994 Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell), No Night Is Too Long, ISBN 067085560X, page 110:

     I'm glad you spell your name like that. It's the best of all the ways to spell Isabel.

   • 2002 Cynthia Heimel: If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet? Grove Press 2002. ISBN 0802139507 page 177:

     How many poor girls, who would have been wild and raging and beautiful and free sex goddesses if only their parents had found it in their hearts to name them Isabel, instead had to stuff their poor psyches into the name Heather?

2. (rare) A matronymic surname​.

Usage notes

• Isabel and Elizabeth were interchangeable in English records up to the 16th century.

Related terms

• (given names) Isabell, Isabella, Isabelle, Ishbel, Isobel, Ysabel
• (pet forms) Bel, Bell, Bella, Belle, Isa, Izzie, Izzy, Tibbie, Tibby

Translations

Anagrams

• abseil, Blaise

Catalan

Proper noun

Isabel f

1. A female given name, cognate to Elizabeth.

Danish

Etymology

From Spanish Isabel.

Proper noun

Isabel

1. A female given name. Variant of Isabella.

German

Etymology

From Spanish Isabel, German Isabel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [izaˈbɛl]
• Hyphenation: I‧sa‧bel

Proper noun

Isabel

1. A female given name. Variant of Isabella and Isabelle.

Norwegian

Etymology

From Spanish Isabel.

Proper noun

Isabel

1. A female given name. Variant of Isabella.

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• Izabel, Isabell (uncommon), Izabell (rare)
• Isabela, Isabella, Izabela, Izabella
• Isabelle, Isabele, Izabelle (uncommon), Izabele (rare)

Etymology

From Latin Elisabeth, from Ancient Greek Ἐλισάβετ ‎(Elisábet), from Hebrew אֱלִישֶׁבַע.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˌi.za.ˈbɛw/
• Rhymes: -ɛw

Proper noun

Isabel f

1. A female given name, equivalent to English Isabel, Isabelle or Elizabeth

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:Isabel.

Related terms

• Elizabeth, Elisabete
• Elisa

Spanish

Etymology

From Old Provençal Elisabel, from Latin Elisabeth. The initial El- was lost probably because it was mistaken for an article.

Proper noun

Isabel f

1. A female given name, cognate with Elizabeth.
2. Elizabeth (biblical character)

Swedish

Etymology

From Spanish Isabel.

Proper noun

Isabel

1. A female given name. Variant of Isabella.