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Glite Dictionary
Bishop Ulfilas

Bishop Ulfilas

9.9
A Christian bishop who translated the Bible into Gothic and made the Gothic alphabet
  • proper noun
: Obispo Ulfilas
  • Bishop Ulfilas translated the Bible into Gothic, making it accessible to the Visigoths.

Examples

  • The Gothic alphabet is widely attributed to Bishop Ulfilas.

  • Bishop Ulfilas was instrumental in spreading Christianity among the Gothic tribes.

  • Many early translations of the Bible into Gothic are credited to Bishop Ulfilas.

  • The teachings of Bishop Ulfilas greatly influenced the Visigoths.

  • Did Bishop Ulfilas really invent the Gothic alphabet?

  • Many early Christians saw Bishop Ulfilas as a key figure in their religious development.

  • Bishop Ulfilas's work with the Gothic alphabet laid the foundation for future linguistic studies.

Synonyms

Wulfila
vsBishop Ulfilas
1 9.9

A Christian bishop of the Visigoths who created the Gothic alphabet and translated the Bible into Gothic

is the identical person but given in the standard spelling
Bishop Wulfila
vsBishop Ulfilas
9.9

A Christian bishop from Cappadocia who translated the Bible into Gothic and made the Gothic alphabet

is the same person but presented without the formal title in the name
Ulfila
vsBishop Ulfilas
9.9

A church leader who made the Gothic alphabet and translated the Bible into Gothic

is the same figure but presented with the full traditional spelling
Ulfilas
vsBishop Ulfilas
9.9

A Christian bishop who translated the Bible into Gothic and created the Gothic alphabet

is the same person but uses a slightly different orthographic form

Surface Forms

Bishop Ulfilas main

Morphology

bishop + Ulfilas

This is a straightforward composition of the title 'bishop' and the proper name 'Ulfilas', so a learner who knows 'bishop' and recognises 'Ulfilas' as a name can immediately infer it refers to the person Ulfilas who is a bishop. The construction is compositional and follows cross-linguistic naming conventions (title + name), making the meaning transparent to B1 learners.

Etymology

Bishop Ulfilas was a church leader in the 300s who created a simple Gothic alphabet and used it to translate the Bible so the Gothic people could read it in their own language. That's why he is remembered for 'translating the Bible into Gothic' and 'inventing the Gothic alphabet'.