Definition

1. Proper noun:

   • A book in the Old Testament: "Jonah" refers to a book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament that narrates the story of the prophet Jonah.
   • A prophet in the Old Testament: "Jonah" is the name of the prophet who was swallowed by a great fish.

2. Noun (often lowercase):

   • A person believed to bring bad luck: A "jonah" is someone who is thought to cause misfortune or be a jinx to those around them.

Examples of Usage

• Proper noun: The story of Jonah and the whale is found in the Book of Jonah. God commanded Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh.

• Noun: The superstitious sailors considered the new passenger a jonah after the storm arose. He felt like a jonah because every project he joined seemed to fail.

Advanced Usage

• "to be a jonah": to be considered a bringer of bad luck.

Variants and Related Words

• Jonah-like (adj): resembling or characteristic of the prophet Jonah, especially in attempting to avoid a duty.

Synonyms

• Jinx (n): a person or thing that brings bad luck.
• Hoodoo (n, informal): a person or thing that brings or causes bad luck.

Idioms and Phrases

• A Jonah's journey: an arduous or reluctant journey, often one of avoidance, alluding to the biblical story.

Noun

1. a book in the Old Testament that tells the story of Jonah and the whale
2. a person believed to bring bad luck to those around him
3. (Old Testament) Jonah did not wish to become a prophet so God caused a great storm to throw him overboard from a ship; he was saved by being swallowed by a whale that vomited him out onto dry land