Ariel
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: note: General American, Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: /ˈɛɹiəl/
note: without the Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: /ˈɛəɹɪəl/
note: without the Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: /ˈɛəɹiəl/
homophone: aerial
homophone: areal
rhymes: -ɛəɹiəl
Forms: form: Ariels
form: Arielle
Etymology: From Biblical Hebrew אֲרִיאֵל (ari'él, a compound of אֲרִי (arí, “lion”) + אֵל (él, “God”), literally “lion of God”).
* (moon of Uranus): All of Uranus’s moons are named after characters created by William Shakespeare or Alexander Pope. The names of all four satellites of Uranus then known were suggested by John Herschel in 1852 at the request of William Lassell, though it is uncertain if Herschel devised the names, or if Lassell did so and then sought Herschel’s permission. Ariel is the name of the leading sylph in Pope’s The Rape of the Lock and also the spirit who serves Prospero in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Senses: examples: text: Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 29:1:
topics: biblical
lifestyle
religion
glosses: A name for the city of Jerusalem, the claimed (and de-facto) capital city of modern Israel, and the claimed capital city of modern Palestine.
examples: text: Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ezra 8:16:
text: All hail, great master! grave sir, hail! I come / To answer thy best pleasure; be't to fly, / To swim, to dive into the fire, to ride / On the curl'd clouds; to thy strong bidding task / Ariel and all his quality.
ref: Scene ii
text: Nor stood unmindful Abdiel to annoy / The Atheist crew, but with redoubl’d blow / Ariel and Arioc, and the violence / Of Ramiel scorcht and blasted overthrew.
ref: 1667, John Milton, “Book CLX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
text: Of these am I, who thy Protection claim, / A watchful Sprite, and Ariel is my Name.
ref: 1712 May, [Alexander Pope], “The Rape of the Locke. An Heroi-comical Poem.”, in Miscellaneous Poems and Translations. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, canto:
text: You don't look like a Daniel (your pre-chosen name). There's something fierce and tawny about you. You're the Lion! You're Ariel: God's Lion. You'll be my father Leon's namesake — and for your father, you'll have a Hebrew name.
I dub thee Ariel, faery spirit of my tempest. You'll be my Jerusalem...
ref: 1979, Phyllis Chesler, With Child, Crowell, →ISBN, page 121:
glosses: A male given name from Hebrew, also ascribed to spirits and angels in English literature.
examples: text: "I'm going to name her Ariel," Laura said, ignoring them completely as she stared down at the baby. "The boys like the name because it's the same as the girl in the Little Mermaid movie. And I like it, because it's pretty."
ref: 1992, Kristina Logan, The Right Man for Loving, Thorndike Press, →ISBN, page 190:
text: All the miniature Cinderellas, Belles, and Ariels who fill the streets every Halloween are essentially paying homage to characters that will slowly and inevitably chip away at their sense of worth in years to come.
ref: 2018, Jen Kim, Love and…: Bad Boys, “The One” & Other Fun Ways to Sabotage Your Relationship, Skyhorse Publishing, →ISBN:
glosses: A female given name from Hebrew, used mainly since the 1980s.
topics: astronomy
natural-sciences
glosses: The brightest moon of the planet Uranus.
glosses: An Israeli settlement and city in the central West Bank.
Derived terms: Arielian