noun · verb · 13 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈɡɒspəl/
US:/ˈɡɑspəl/
Mid-Atlantic, US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:G AA1 S P AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:G AO1 S P AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The first section of the Christian New Testament scripture, comprising the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, concerned with the birth, ministry, passion, and resurrection of Jesus.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
An account of those aspects of Jesus' life, generally written during the first several centuries of the Common Era.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
The teaching of Divine grace as distinguished from the Law or Divine commandments.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: Christianity, Protestantism
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A message expected to have positive reception or effect, one promoted as offering important (or even infallible) guiding principles.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
That which is absolutely authoritative (definitive).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
Examples
took her words for gospel
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
Gospel music.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
Alternative form of gospel.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
Topics: Christianity
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
verb
Meaning 8
To instruct in, declare, or communicate the gospel; to evangelise.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
9
noun
Meaning 9
a doctrine that is believed to be of great importance
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
Newton's writings were gospel for those who followed
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: doctrine, philosophy, philosophical system, school of thought, ism
10
noun
Meaning 10
the four books in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that tell the story of Christ's life and teachings
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: Gospels, evangel
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: sacred text, sacred writing, religious writing, religious text
Narrower terms: Word of God, Matthew, Gospel According to Matthew, Mark, Gospel According to Mark, Luke, Gospel of Luke, Gospel According to Luke, John, Gospel According to John
11
noun
Meaning 11
an unquestionable truth
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
his word was gospel
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: gospel truth
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: truth, true statement
12
noun
Meaning 12
the written body of teachings of a religious group that are generally accepted by that group
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: religious doctrine, church doctrine, creed
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: doctrine, philosophy, philosophical system, school of thought, ism
Narrower terms: original sin, confession, ahimsa, dogma, tenet, ecumenism, ecumenicism, ecumenicalism, Immaculate Conception, Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, Incarnation, Nicene Creed, real presence
13
noun
Meaning 13
folk music consisting of a genre of a cappella music originating with Black slaves in the United States and featuring call and response; influential on the development of other genres of popular music (especially soul)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: gospel singing
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: folk music, ethnic music, folk
Narrower terms: doo-wop, soul
History
Etymology
From Middle English gospel, gospell, godspel, godspell, goddspell, from Old English godspell (“gospel”), corresponding to God + spell (“talk, tale, story”), literally “the message of God”, believed to be an alteration of earlier *gōdspell (literally “good news”), used to translate ecclesiastical Latin bona annūntiātiō, itself a translation of Ecclesiastical Latin ēvangelium / Ancient Greek εὐαγγέλιον (euangélion, “evangel”, literally “good news”) (English evangel). Compare Old Saxon gōdspel and godspell (“gospel”), Old High German and Middle High German gotspel (“gospel”), Icelandic guðspjall (“gospel”), and the modern calque Malayalam സുവിശേഷം (suviśēṣaṁ).
From Middle English gospellen, from Old English godspellian (“to preach the gospel, evangelise”), from the noun (see above).
Across languages
Translations
181 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
evangelie
— first section of New Testament
Aghwan:
𐕃𐕒𐕡𐔳𐔰𐕘𐔴𐕚𐕒𐕡𐕎
(ʒ́udaġesun)
— first section of New Testament
Albanian:
ungjill
— first section of New Testament
Arabic:
إِنْجِيل
(ʔinjīl)
— first section of New Testament
Aramaic:
אונגליון
— first section of New Testament
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic:
ܐܸܘܲܢܓܸܠܝܼܘܿܢ
(iwāngiliyun)
— first section of New Testament
Aramaic:
ܐܘܢܓܠܝܘܢ
— first section of New Testament
Turoyo:
ܡܓܰܠܝܽܘܢ
(mgalyūn)
— first section of New Testament
Armenian:
ավետարան
(avetaran)
— first section of New Testament
Asturian:
evanxeliu
— first section of New Testament
Azerbaijani:
incil
— first section of New Testament
Bashkir:
Инжил
(İnjil)
— first section of New Testament
Basque:
ebanjelio
— first section of New Testament
Belarusian:
ева́нгелле
(jevánhjellje)
— first section of New Testament
Belarusian:
еванге́лле
(jevanhjéllje)
— first section of New Testament
Bengali:
সুসমাচার
(śuśomacar)
— first section of New Testament
Bengali:
গসপেল
(gośpel)
— first section of New Testament
Bengali:
ইঞ্জীল
(injīl)
— first section of New Testament
Bulgarian:
ева́нгелие
(evángelie)
— first section of New Testament
Burmese:
ဧဝံဂေလိ
(ewamgeli.)
— first section of New Testament
Caló:
embeo
— first section of New Testament
Catalan:
evangeli
— first section of New Testament
Cherokee:
ᎧᏃᎮᏓ
(kanoheda)
— first section of New Testament
Chinese Cantonese:
福音書 /福音书
(fuk1 jam1 syu1)
— first section of New Testament
Chinese Mandarin:
福音書 /福音书
(fúyīnshū)
— first section of New Testament
Czech:
evangelium
— first section of New Testament
Danish:
evangelium
— first section of New Testament
Dutch:
evangelie
— first section of New Testament
Elfdalian:
waundjila
— first section of New Testament
Elfdalian:
ewandjilium
— first section of New Testament
Erzya:
паро куля
(paro kuľa)
— first section of New Testament
Erzya:
евангелия
(evangelija)
— first section of New Testament
Esperanto:
evangelio
— first section of New Testament
Estonian:
evangeelium
— first section of New Testament
Faroese:
evangelium
— first section of New Testament
Finnish:
evankeliumi
— first section of New Testament
French:
évangile
— first section of New Testament
Friulian:
vanzeli
— first section of New Testament
Galician:
evanxeo
— first section of New Testament
Georgian:
სახარება
(saxareba)
— first section of New Testament
German:
Evangelium
— first section of New Testament
German:
Efangeli
— first section of New Testament
Gothic:
𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌴𐌻𐌾𐍉
(aiwaggēljō)
— first section of New Testament
Greek:
ευαγγέλιο
(evangélio)
— first section of New Testament
Ancient Greek:
εὐαγγέλιον
(euangélion)
— first section of New Testament
Gujarati:
ઇંજીલ
(iñjīl)
— first section of New Testament
Haitian Creole:
levanjil
— first section of New Testament
Hebrew:
בְּשׂוֹרָה
(bsorá)
— first section of New Testament
Hiligaynon:
ebanhelyo
— first section of New Testament
Hindi:
सुसमाचार
(susamācār)
— first section of New Testament
Hindi:
इंजील
(iñjīl)
— first section of New Testament
Hungarian:
evangélium
— first section of New Testament
Icelandic:
guðspjall
— first section of New Testament
Indonesian:
injil
— first section of New Testament
Ingrian:
jevangeli
— first section of New Testament
Irish:
soiscéal
— first section of New Testament
Old Irish:
soiscélae
— first section of New Testament
Istriot:
vanzeîlio
— first section of New Testament
Italian:
vangelo
— first section of New Testament
Japanese:
福音書
(fukuinsho)
— first section of New Testament
Kazakh:
інжіл
(ınjıl)
— first section of New Testament
Khmer:
ដំណឹងល្អ
(dɑmnəng lʼɑɑ)
— first section of New Testament
Korean:
복음서
(bogeumseo)
— first section of New Testament
Northern Kurdish:
incîl
— first section of New Testament
Kyrgyz:
инжил
(injil)
— first section of New Testament
Ladino:
איבֿאנגֿילייו
— first section of New Testament
Ladino:
בשורה
— first section of New Testament
Ladino:
Evanjillio
— first section of New Testament
Ladino:
Besora
— first section of New Testament
Lao:
ຂ່າວປະເສີດ
(khāo pa sœ̄t)
— first section of New Testament
Latin:
evangelium
— first section of New Testament
Latvian:
evaņģēlijs
— first section of New Testament
Lithuanian:
evangelija
— first section of New Testament
Low German:
Evangelium
— first section of New Testament
Macedonian:
евангелие
(evangelie)
— first section of New Testament
Malagasy:
filazantsara
— first section of New Testament
Malay:
injil
— first section of New Testament
Malayalam:
സുവിശേഷം
(suviśēṣaṁ)
— first section of New Testament
Malayalam:
ഏവൻഗേലിയോൻ
(ēvaṉgēliyōṉ)
— first section of New Testament
Malayalam:
ഇഞ്ചീൽ
(iñcīl)
— first section of New Testament
Malayalam:
ഇഞ്ജീൽ
(iñjīl)
— first section of New Testament
Maltese:
evanġelju
— first section of New Testament
Manchu:
ᡝᠸᠠᠩᡤᡝᠯᡳ᠇ᡠᠮ
(ewanggeli'um)
— first section of New Testament
Manx:
sushtal
— first section of New Testament
Māori:
rongopai
— first section of New Testament
Eastern Mari:
евангелий
(jevangeĺij)
— first section of New Testament
Eastern Mari:
порувер
(poruver)
— first section of New Testament
Middle English:
gospel
— first section of New Testament
Mongolian:
евангали
(jevangali)
— first section of New Testament
Navajo:
haneʼ yáʼátʼéehii
— first section of New Testament
Norwegian Bokmål:
evangelium
— first section of New Testament
Occitan:
evangèli
— first section of New Testament
Church Slavic:
єѵангєлїѥ
(evangelije)
— first section of New Testament
Old English:
godspell
— first section of New Testament
Old Norse:
guðspjall
— first section of New Testament
Pashto:
انجيل
(enǰíl)
— first section of New Testament
Persian:
انجیل
(enjil)
— first section of New Testament
Middle Persian:
𐭬𐭩𐭦𐭣𐭢𐭲𐭠𐭰𐭩
(mizdagtāzīh)
— first section of New Testament
Polish:
ewangelia
— first section of New Testament
Portuguese:
evangelho
— first section of New Testament
Romanian:
evanghelie
— first section of New Testament
Russian:
ева́нгелие
(jevángelije)
— first section of New Testament
Sardinian:
banzelu
— first section of New Testament
Sardinian:
evagnelu
— first section of New Testament
Scottish Gaelic:
soisgeul
— first section of New Testament
Serbo-Croatian:
јева̀нђе̄ље
— first section of New Testament
Serbo-Croatian:
ева̀нђе̄ље
— first section of New Testament
Serbo-Croatian:
jevànđēlje
— first section of New Testament
Serbo-Croatian:
evànđēlje
— first section of New Testament
Sicilian:
vancelu
— first section of New Testament
Slovak:
evanjelium
— first section of New Testament
Slovene:
vangelij
— first section of New Testament
Sogdian:
ܡܘݍܕܘܤܐܩ
(muždučāk)
— first section of New Testament
Sogdian:
ܐܘܢܓܠܝܘܢ
(ewangelyōn)
— first section of New Testament
Spanish:
evangelio
— first section of New Testament
Spanish:
Buena Nueva
— first section of New Testament
Swahili:
injili
— first section of New Testament
Swedish:
evangelium
— first section of New Testament
Tagalog:
ebanghelyo
— first section of New Testament
Tagalog:
laygay
— first section of New Testament
Tajik:
инҷил
(injil)
— first section of New Testament
Tamil:
இஞ்சீல்
(iñcīl)
— first section of New Testament
Tatar:
инҗил
(incil)
— first section of New Testament
Thai:
พระวรสาร
(prá-wá-rá-sǎan)
— first section of New Testament
Thai:
พระกิตติคุณ
(prá-gìt-dtì-kun)
— first section of New Testament
Turkish:
İncil
— first section of New Testament
Ottoman Turkish:
انجیل
(incil)
— first section of New Testament
Turkmen:
injil
— first section of New Testament
Ukrainian:
єва́нгеліє
(jevánhelije)
— first section of New Testament
Ukrainian:
єванге́ліє
(jevanhélije)
— first section of New Testament
Urdu:
انجیل
(injīl)
— first section of New Testament
Uyghur:
ئىنجىل
(injil)
— first section of New Testament
Uzbek:
injil
— first section of New Testament
Venetan:
vangeło
— first section of New Testament
Vietnamese:
phúc âm
— first section of New Testament
Walloon:
evandjîle
— first section of New Testament
Welsh:
efengyl
— first section of New Testament
Yiddish:
עוואַנגעליע
(evangelye)
— first section of New Testament
Yiddish:
עוואַנגעליום
(Evangelium)
— first section of New Testament
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic:
ܐܸܘܲܢܓܸܠܝܼܘܿܢ
(iwāngiliyun)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Bulgarian:
евангелие
(evangelie)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Cherokee:
ᎧᏃᎮᏓ
(kanoheda)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Chuukese:
kapas allim
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Czech:
evangelium
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Danish:
evangelium
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Finnish:
evankeliumi
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
French:
évangile
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Galician:
evanxeo
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Georgian:
ოთხთავი
(otxtavi)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
German:
Evangelium
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
German:
Efangeli
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Gothic:
𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌴𐌻𐌾𐍉
(aiwaggēljō)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Greek:
ευαγγέλιο
(evangélio)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Hindi:
सुसमाचार
(susamācār)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Hindi:
इंजील
(iñjīl)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Ingrian:
jevangeli
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Irish:
soiscéal
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Old Irish:
soiscél
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Old Irish:
soiscélae
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Japanese:
福音
(fukuin)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Kazakh:
ізгі хабар
(ızgı xabar)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Low German:
Evangelium
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Manx:
sushtal
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Māori:
rongopai
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Old English:
godspell
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Polish:
ewangelia
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Portuguese:
evangelho
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Russian:
ева́нгелие
(jevángelije)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Scottish Gaelic:
soisgeul
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Slovak:
evanjelium
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Swedish:
evangelium
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Ottoman Turkish:
انجیل
(incil)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Ukrainian:
єванге́ліє
(jevanhélije)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Ukrainian:
єванге́лія
(jevanhélija)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Yiddish:
בשורת הגאולה
(Besuras HaGeulah)
— account of the life, death, and teachings of Jesus
Finnish:
evankeliumi
— teaching of Divine grace
Finnish:
ilosanoma
— teaching of Divine grace
Finnish:
ilosanoma
— message expected to have positive reception or effect
Hebrew:
בְּשׂוֹרָה
(bsorá)
— message expected to have positive reception or effect
Middle English:
gospel
— message expected to have positive reception or effect
Yiddish:
בשׂורה
(Besurah)
— message expected to have positive reception or effect
