Saint Luke
- proper noun
:
San Lucas
- Saint Luke is traditionally regarded as the author of the third Gospel in the New Testament.
Examples
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In Christian tradition, Saint Luke is celebrated as the patron saint of physicians and artists.
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Many artists sought inspiration from the teachings of Saint Luke during the Renaissance.
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But in the 1770s and 1780s, as the royal arts administration moved to close down alternative exhibitions like those sponsored by the trade-oriented Academy of Saint Luke or by profit-seeking entrepreneurs, its own Salons became increasingly transformed into sites of commercial competition.
Academic text (2007)
Synonyms
106
4.1
A Christian man who travels with Paul and writes a book about Jesus
A Christian saint and follower of Jesus who many people think wrote the third Gospel
A Christian writer traditionally said to have written the Gospel of Luke and Acts
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'Saint' (a holy person) + 'Luke' (a proper name) yields a holy person called Luke, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand it denotes a religious figure named Luke. The naming pattern 'Saint + Name' is cross-linguistically common, making the expression immediately transparent even if specific biographical details (evangelist status) require prior knowledge.
Etymology
Saint Luke comes from an early Christian called Luke, said to be a doctor who travelled with Paul and who wrote the third Gospel and the book of Acts. Because he is remembered as a writer and a close 'companion', churches and pictures use the name Saint Luke to honour him as the 'author' and helper of the early church.