St. Luke

5.4

A Christian saint and follower of Jesus who many people think wrote the third Gospel

proper noun
/seɪnt luːk/

: San Lucas

St. Luke is often depicted as a physician in religious art.

Examples

Many Christians celebrate the feast day of St. Luke every October 18.
Artists often depict St. Luke painting a picture of the Virgin Mary.
Many scholars believe that St. Luke was both a physician and an evangelist.
The Gospel attributed to St. Luke provides a detailed account of the life of Jesus.
In the Gospel of St. Luke, we find the story of the Good Samaritan.
Many Christians read from the book of St. Luke during church services.
St. Luke is often depicted in art holding a quill and a book, symbolizing his role as an evangelist.

Synonyms

Luke

vsSt. Luke

106 4.1

A Christian man who travels with Paul and writes a book about Jesus

is the same identity but appears with a shortened title form

Saint Luke

vsSt. Luke

5.1

A follower of Jesus who travelled with Paul and wrote the third Gospel

is identical in meaning but uses an abbreviated title form

Luke the Evangelist

vsSt. Luke

7.5

A Christian writer traditionally said to have written the Gospel of Luke and Acts

is the same person but named more generally without the role label

Surface Forms

St. Luke main

Morphology

St. + Luke

The expression simply combines the title 'St.' (Saint) with the proper name 'Luke', so a learner who knows the constituent words can immediately infer it refers to a saint named Luke. While specific biographical details (e.g. authorship of the Gospel) are not deducible from the name alone, the core referential meaning is fully compositional and cross-linguistically transparent.

Etymology

St. Luke is a Christian saint who, by tradition, was a doctor and the 'writer of the third Gospel'. Artists often showed St. Luke painting the Virgin Mary, and that clear picture helps people remember him as both a gospel writer and a healer.