Ishmael

//ˈɪʃ.meɪ.əl// name, noun

name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An outcast.

    "His new friend was evidently a young Ishmael — his hand against every man and every man's hand against him."

  2. 2
    a person who is rejected (from society or home) wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    The eldest son of Abraham and his wife's handmaiden Hagar who were cast out after the birth of Isaac; traditionally the ancestor of the Arabs via the Ishmaelites.

    "And Hagar bare Abram a ſonne: and Abram called his ſonnes name, which Hagar bare, Iſhmael."

  2. 2
    A male given name from Hebrew.

    "Call me Ishmael."

Synonyms

All synonyms
outcastcastawaycastawaydeclassederelictdisplaced person

Example

More examples

"In the wild wilderness, a leopard mother caresses her cub, as Hagar did Ishmael; or a queen of France the dauphin."

Etymology

From Hebrew יִשְׁמָעֵאל (yishma'él (yišmāʿēl), “God hears, God will hear”). Doublet of Ismail.

Related phrases

St Ishmael

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.