LORD

See also: lord, and Lord

English

Etymology

See lord and Lord.

Proper noun

LORD

1. Typographical variant of Lord, particularly in English translations of the Bible.
   • 1610, The Second Tome of the Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Lavrence Kellam, […], →OCLC, Psalmes 8:2, page 26:

     O Lord our Lord [translating יְהוָ֤ה אֲדֹנֵ֗ינוּ (y'hvh 'adonéinu)], how meruelous is thy name in the whole earth! Becauſe thy magnificence is eleuated, aboue the heauens.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 2:18, column 1:

     And the LORD God [translating יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים (y'hvh 'elohím)] ſaid, It is not good that the man ſhould be alone: I will make him an helpe meet for him.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 4:9, column 2:

     And the LORD [translating יְהוָה֙ (y'hvh)] ſaid vnto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And hee ſaid, I know not: Am I my brothers keeper?

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 17:45, column 2:

     Then ſaid Dauid to the Philiſtine, Thou commeſt to mee with a ſword, and with a ſpeare, and with a ſhield: but I come to thee in the Name of the LORD of hoſtes [translating יְהוָ֣ה צְבָאֹ֔ות (y'hvh ts'va'oth)], the God of the armies of Iſrael, whom thou haſt defied.

Usage notes

In Jewish practice, the Tetragrammaton (the Hebrew name of God, יהוה (YHWH)) is written directly in the Tanakh but spoken aloud as Adonai (Hebrew אֲדֹנָי (Adonai, “my Lord”)). The scholars responsible for the Septuagint translation of the Tanakh into Koine preserved this tradition by writing appearances of the Tetragrammaton as ὁ κύριος (ho kúrios, “the supreme one; the Lord, Kyrios”)) and English translations of the Bible have similarly presented appearances of Adonai as "Lord", "the Lord", or "The Lord" while presenting appearances of the Tetragrammaton as "LORD" (as in the 1611 edition of the King James Bible), "lord", "Lord", "the LORD", etc.

This is not always consistent, however, with YHWH sometimes being translated or rendered as Jehovah, Adonai YHWH sometimes appearing as "the LORD GOD", or YHWH Sabaoth appearing as "the Lord of Hosts".