jordan

[ jawr-dn ]
See synonyms for jordan on Thesaurus.com
nounBritish Dialect.

Origin of jordan

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English jurdan “urinal,” perhaps after the river Jordan, by coarse jesting

Other definitions for Jordan (2 of 2)

Jordan
[ jawr-dn; for 4 also French zhawr-dahn ]

noun
  1. Barbara Charline, 1936–96, U.S. politician.

  2. Da·vid Starr [dey-vid stahr], /ˈdeɪ vɪd ˈstɑr/, 1851–1931, U.S. biologist and educator.

  1. June, 1936–2002, U.S. poet, novelist, and essayist.

  2. Ma·rie En·ne·mond Ca·mille [ma-reeenuh-mawnka-mee-yuh], /maˈri ɛnəˈmɔ̃ kaˈmi yə/, 1838–1922, French mathematician.

  3. Michael Jeffrey "Air Jordan"; "His Airness", born 1963, U.S. basketball player.

  4. Official name Hash·e·mite King·dom of Jor·dan [hash-uh-mahyt king-duhmuhv jawr-dn] /ˈhæʃ əˌmaɪt ˈkɪŋ dəm əv ˈdʒɔr dn/ . a kingdom in southwest Asia, consisting of the former Transjordan and a part of Palestine that, since 1967, has been occupied by Israel. 37,264 square miles (96,514 square kilometers). Capital: Amman.

  5. a river in southwest Asia, flowing from southern Lebanon through the Sea of Galilee, then south between Israel and Jordan through western Jordan into the Dead Sea. 200 miles (320 kilometers) long.

  6. a male given name.

Other words from Jordan

  • an·ti-Jor·dan, adjective
  • Jor·da·ni·an [jawr-dey-nee-uhn], /dʒɔrˈdeɪ ni ən/, adjective, noun
  • pro-Jor·dan, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for Jordan (1 of 2)

Jordan1

/ (ˈdʒɔːdən) /


noun
  1. a kingdom in SW Asia: coextensive with the biblical Moab, Gilead, and Edom; made a League of Nations mandate and emirate under British control in 1922 and became an independent kingdom in 1946; territories west of the River Jordan and the Jordanian part of Jerusalem (intended to be part of an autonomous Palestine) were occupied by Israel after the war of 1967. It contains part of the Great Rift Valley and consists mostly of desert. Official language: Arabic. Official religion: (Sunni) Muslim. Currency: dinar. Capital: Amman. Pop: 6 482 081 (2013 est). Area: 89 185 sq km (34 434 sq miles): Official name: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Former name (1922–49): Trans-Jordan

  2. the chief and only perennial river of Israel and Jordan, rising in several headstreams in Syria and Lebanon, and flowing south through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea: occupies the N end of the Great Rift Valley system and lies mostly below sea level. Length: over 320 km (200 miles)

British Dictionary definitions for Jordan (2 of 2)

Jordan2

/ (ˈdʒɔːdən) /


noun
  1. Michael (Jeffrey). born 1963, US basketball player

  2. Neil. born 1950, Irish film director and writer; his films include The Company of Wolves (1984), Mona Lisa (1986), The Crying Game (1992), Michael Collins (1996), The End of the Affair (2000), and The Brave One (2007)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Jordan

Jordan

Monarchy in the Middle East, bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, and Israel to the west. Amman is its capital and largest city.

Notes for Jordan

Jordan is an Arab nation.

Notes for Jordan

King Hussein, a controversial figure in Middle Eastern affairs, ruled from 1953 until his death in 2000. Although he tried to maintain cordial relations with the West, he opposed the Egypt (see also Egypt)-Israel peace agreement of 1979, endorsed the Palestine Liberation Organization, and refused to join the alliance against Iraq during the Persian Gulf War.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.