English

Alternative forms

• (as a given name): Debra, Debora

Proper noun

Deborah ‎(plural Deborahs)

1. A judge of Israel; a nurse of Rebecca.
   • 1611, Bible (KJV), Judges 4:4::

     And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

2. A female given name, popular from the 1940s to the 1970s, first in the USA, then in the UK.
   • 1851 James Brayshay: The Protector of Houghall, Or the Lily and the Rose. Groombridge and Sons, 1851. Act I:

     Rapier. Heigho! Deborah! it's an ugly name, a damnable name - the name I mean! - it sounds like Gomorrah! Deb! Debby! - worse still - sounded sharp now I rather like it! - Deborah! Deborah! Deborah!

   • 1995 Carl Hiaasen: Stormy Weather. Alfred A.Knopf,Inc. ISBN 0679419829 page 256:

     He hadn't known, for example, that her middle name was Deborah. It was a name he liked: plucky, Midwestern and reliable-sounding. He was willing to bet that if you went through every women's prison in America, you wouldn't find a half-dozen Deborahs.

Related terms

• Deb
• Debbie
• Debby

Translations