(Old Testament) a beautiful Jewess chosen by the king of Persia to be his queen; she stopped a plot to massacre all the Jews in Persia (an event celebrated by Jews as the feast of Purim)
"In the Old Testament, Esther was a beautiful Jewess chosen by the Persian king whose clever intervention saved her people from a planned massacre."
an Old Testament book telling of a beautiful Jewess who became queen of Persia and saved her people from massacre
"The story of Esther is read during the Jewish holiday of Purim to celebrate how she saved her people."
A female given name from Persian.
"Esther was a popular choice for the baby girl named after the heroine of the biblical Book of Esther."
The name Esther comes from the Biblical Hebrew word for a woman of uncertain meaning. Scholars have suggested it may be related to the Persian word for "star" or the Akkadian goddess Ishtar, though its exact origin remains debated.