Beulah

See also: beulah

English

Etymology

A biblical name applied to the land of Israel in Isaiah 62:4, from Biblical Hebrew בְּעוּלָה (bəʿûlâ, “married (woman)”), taken up as a given name by Puritans and used figuratively for the New Earth.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbjuːlə/
• Rhymes: -uːlə

Proper noun

Beulah

1. A female given name from Hebrew.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 62:4:

     Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.

   • 2003, Rita Dove, Earl G. Ingersoll, Conversations with Rita Dove, Univ. of Mississippi, →ISBN, page 43:

     I was into names then for some reason, and hit upon the name Beulah. When I was a child it was a name like Bertha, and you made a joke about Beulah, Big Beulah. I thought, wouldn't it be nice to use the name Beulah and try to get it in a poem.

2. A village, the county seat of Benzie County, Michigan.
3. A town in Mississippi.
4. A city in North Dakota.
5. A census-designated place in Wyoming.
6. A village in Ceredigion, Wales.
7. A small village in Treflys community, Powys, Wales (OS grid ref SN9251).