Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One who betrays another under the guise of friendship.
  • noun A one-way peephole in a door.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A treacherous person; one who betrays under the semblance of friendship.
  • noun [lowercase] In some old houses, a lattice with small openings in a door, through which those inside could look without, being seen: designed to prevent the admission of objectionable persons.
  • noun Hence In a prison, a small opening in the door or wall of a cell to enable the guards to watch the prisoners; a judas-hole.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The disciple who betrayed Christ.
  • noun a peephole or secret opening for spying.
  • noun an act appearing to be an act of friendship, which is in fact harmful to the recipient.
  • noun (Bot.) a leguminous tree of the genus Cercis, with pretty, rose-colored flowers in clusters along the branches. Judas is said to have hanged himself on a tree of this genus (Cercis Siliquastrum). Cercis Canadensis and Cercis occidentalis are the American species, and are called also redbud.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun biblical One of the twelve original Apostles of Jesus, known for his role in Jesus' betrayal into the hands of Roman authorities. Also called Judas Iscariot.
  • proper noun A male given name.
  • noun A traitor, a person not to be trusted.
  • noun A small hole in a door through which a person can look without being seen from the other side; used especially in prisons; a judas-hole

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun someone who betrays under the guise of friendship
  • noun (New Testament) the Apostle who betrayed Jesus to his enemies for 30 pieces of silver
  • noun a one-way peephole in a door
  • noun (New Testament) supposed brother of St. James; one of the Apostles who is invoked in prayer when a situation seems hopeless

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Late Latin Iūdas, Judas Iscariot, from Greek Ioudas, from Hebrew yəhûdâ, Judah.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek Ἰούδας (Ioudas), from Hebrew יהודה.

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Examples

  • The Judas bells may probably have been used in the Easter-eve ceremonies, in connexion with which we find _Judas candles_ mentioned.

    Notes and Queries, Number 15, February 9, 1850 Various

  • Jesus’ being betrayed by Judas, and Judas’ returning back the thirty pieces of Silver, and the Priest’s buying the Potter’s Field with them; and his hanging Himself; &c. &c. All these events, and many more, are said to be fulfillments of the Prophecies of the Old

    The Grounds of Christianity Examined by Comparing The New Testament with the Old George Bethune English 1807

  • Judas Priest (犹大圣徒) - 《Judas Priest全集+精选+致敬专辑》共24张,1. 30更新完毕 [MP3!]

    VeryCD - 电驴资源订阅 2009

  • Jagung 'is now commonly associated with the term Judas, the one who bails out on plans.

    Noktah Hitam 2009

  • Jagung 'is now commonly associated with the term Judas, the one who bails out on plans.

    Noktah Hitam 2009

  • Jagung 'is now commonly associated with the term Judas, the one who bails out on plans.

    Noktah Hitam 2009

  • Melkonyants, the organization's deputy director, said he was worried that the group's 3,000 monitors would be excluded from polling stations, and that they might even be in danger, after Mr. Putin's use of the word "Judas."

    NYT > Home Page By ELLEN BARRY 2011

  • Now I think "Judas" is a generous way of defining him.

    Richardson: Clinton supporters 'clinging to the throne' 2008

  • Judas is always some kind of friend of some freedom fighter named Barabbas, you know what I mean?

    Film 2009

  • Although Judas double-crossed his best friend for a paltry sum, some scholars argue that Judas is the secret hero of Christianity.

    mental_floss Blog » 2010 » February 2010

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