Hosanna
Liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity
Hosanna () is an Aramaic liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it is a cry expressing an appeal for God’s help. In Christianity it is a cry of praise.
Etymology
The word hosanna (Latin osanna, Greek ὡσαννά, hōsanná) is from Hebrew הוֹשִׁיעָה־נָּא, הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא hôšîʿâ-nā, and especially the short form הוֹשַׁע נָּא hôšâ-nā, and related to Aramaic ܐܘܿܫܲܥܢܵܐ (ʾōshaʿnā) meaning 'save, rescue, savior'.
Greek ὡσαννά (hōsanná) transliterates Hebrew הוֹשִׁיעָה־נָּא (hôšîʿā-nnāʾ) “save, we pray” (Psalm 118:25); originally a plea for help that later became a liturgical acclamation."Hosanna". Encyclopaedia Britannica.
In the Hebrew Bible it is used only in verses such as "help" or "save, I pray" (Psalms 118:25). However, in the Gospels it is used as a shout of jubilation, and this has given rise to complex discussions.
In that context, the word Hosanna seems to be a "special kind of respect" given to the one who saved, saves, is saving now or will save. If so Hosanna means "a special honor to the one who saves".
The public source identifies “Hosanna” as liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hosanna, Liturgical and word.
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This entry incorporates text from “Hosanna” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.