noun
- Also called Jerubbaal. a judge of Israel and conqueror of the Midianites. Judges 6–8.
- a member of the Gideons International.
- a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “great destroyer.”
noun
- Old Testament a Hebrew judge who led the Israelites to victory over their Midianite oppressors (Judges 6:11–8:35)
Bible propagation society, 1906, formally Christian Commercial Young Men’s Association of America, founded 1899. It takes its name from Gideon, Israelite judge and warrior [Judg. vi:11-viii:25], from Hebrew Gidh’on, literally “feller,” from stem of gadha “he cut off, hewed, felled.”