Definition of "Daniel"

Daniel

/ˈdænjəl/

proper noun
1. A book in the Old Testament of the Bible.
2. (biblical) The prophet whose story is told in the Book of Daniel.
  Quotations
  Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the denne of Lions: now the king spake and saide vnto Daniel; Thy God, whom thou seruest continually, he will deliuer thee.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Daniel 6:16
3. A male given name from Hebrew in regular use since the Middle Ages.
  Quotations
  "His name is Daniel Needham," my mother said. Whew! With what relief - down came my grandmother's hands! Needham was a fine old name, a founding fathers sort of name, a name you could trace back to the Massachusetts Bay Colony - if not exactly Gravesend itself. And Daniel was as Daniel as Daniel Webster, which was as good a name as a Wheelwright could wish for."But he's called Dan," my mother added, bringing a slight frown to my grandmother's countenance.
  1989, John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Corgi Books, page 55
4. A British surname originating as a patronymic, a variant of Daniels.
5. A French surname originating as a patronymic.
6. A Portuguese surname originating as a patronymic.
7. A surname from Irish, a rare adopted anglicization of Ó Domhnaill (O'Donnell).
8. A village in central Poland.
9. A town in Utah, United States.
10. A census-designated place in Wyoming, United States.
noun
plural Daniels
1. A wise judge, like the biblical Daniel who ingeniously saved a woman from false accusations of adultery.
  Quotations
  A Daniel come to judgment! yea, a Daniel! / O wise young judge, how I do honour thee!
  c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene i]