Calvary
[ kal-vuh-ree ]
/ ˈkæl və ri /
noun, plural Cal·va·ries for 2, 3.
Golgotha, the place where Jesus was crucified. Luke 23:33.
(often lowercase)
a sculptured representation of the Crucifixion, usually erected in the open air.
(lowercase)
an experience or occasion of extreme suffering, especially mental suffering.
Origin of Calvary
pronunciation note for Calvary
See
irrelevant.
historical usage of Calvary
The proper name
Calvary, originally spelled
caluarie, entered Old English about 1000 a.d. in, unsurprisingly, a translation of the Gospel of St. Luke (23:33).
Caluarie comes directly from Late Latin
Calvāriae (locum) “(place) of the skull,” a translation of Greek
(tòn tópon tòn kaloúmenon) Kraníon “(the place called) Skull.”
Kraníon is the Greek translation of Aramaic
gulgalthā “the skull,” akin to Hebrew
gulgōleth (Greek transliterates the Aramaic and Hebrew forms as
golgothá “Golgotha”).
Nearly everything about Golgotha is uncertain, including its exact location. As to the reason the Hebrew and Aramaic languages name the place “skull”: it may have been a place for public executions where the skulls of those executed were left to be seen; it may be named for a nearby cemetery; or it may be named for its shape (in Virginia and North Carolina, a rounded, treeless mountaintop is called a “bald”).
Nearly everything about Golgotha is uncertain, including its exact location. As to the reason the Hebrew and Aramaic languages name the place “skull”: it may have been a place for public executions where the skulls of those executed were left to be seen; it may be named for a nearby cemetery; or it may be named for its shape (in Virginia and North Carolina, a rounded, treeless mountaintop is called a “bald”).
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH Calvary
Calvary cavalryExample sentences from the Web for calvary
British Dictionary definitions for calvary (1 of 2)
calvary
/ (ˈkælvərɪ) /
noun plural -ries
(often capital)
a representation of Christ's crucifixion, usually sculptured and in the open air
any experience involving great suffering
British Dictionary definitions for calvary (2 of 2)
Calvary
/ (ˈkælvərɪ) /
noun
the place just outside the walls of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified
Also called: Golgotha
Word Origin for Calvary
from Late Latin
Calvāria, translation of Greek
kranion skull, translation of Aramaic
gulgulta Golgotha
Cultural definitions for calvary
Calvary
The hill near Jerusalem (see also Jerusalem) on which Jesus was crucified. The name is Latin for “Place of the Skull”; it is also called Golgotha. (See Crucifixion.)