ZACHARY

Zachary: translation

Englishform (pre-dating the Authorized Version) of theNew TestamentGreeknameZacharias, a form ofHebrewZECHARIAH(SEE Zechariah). In theNew Testamentit is the name of the father of John the Baptist, who underwent a temporary period of dumbness for his lack of faith (Luke 1), and of a more obscure figure, Zacharias son of Barachias, who was slain ‘between the temple and the altar’ (Matthew 23: 35; Luke 11: 51). Like many biblical names, it is now out of fashion, although in the United States it is familiar as the name of a 19th-century president, Zachary Taylor. In the Highlands of Scotland it has been used as anAnglicizedform of theGaelicnameSGÀIRE(SEE Sgàire).

Variants:Zacharias, Zachariah,ZECHARIAH(SEE Zechariah).

Cognate:Scottish Gaelic: Sachairi.