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Glite Dictionary
St. Matthew the Apostle

St. Matthew the Apostle

7.6
One of the twelve followers of Jesus who is said to have written the first Gospel in the New Testament
  • proper noun
translation icon : San Mateo Apóstol
  • According to tradition, St. Matthew the Apostle wrote the first Gospel.

Examples

  • The feast day of St. Matthew the Apostle is celebrated on September 21st in the Western Christian calendar.

  • Many churches around the world are named after St. Matthew the Apostle in honor of his legacy.

  • According to tradition, St. Matthew the Apostle wrote the Gospel that bears his name.

  • Did St. Matthew the Apostle really collect taxes before following Jesus?

  • According to tradition, St. Matthew the Apostle wrote the Gospel that bears his name.

  • Many churches around the world are named after St. Matthew the Apostle in honor of his legacy.

  • The feast day of St. Matthew the Apostle is celebrated on September 21st in the Western Christian calendar.

Synonyms

Levi
vsSt. Matthew the Apostle
61 7.9

A follower of Jesus said to be the writer of the Gospel of Matthew

uses the traditional title instead of the alternate personal name
Matthew
vsSt. Matthew the Apostle
26 1.7

One of Jesus' twelve followers who was a tax collector and is often said to have written the first Gospel

is the same description but with the traditional honorific title
Saint Matthew
vsSt. Matthew the Apostle
1 4.7

One of Jesus's twelve followers in the Bible, often shown holding a book

prefers the saintly or formal phrasing over the plain name
Saint Matthew the Apostle
vsSt. Matthew the Apostle
7.0

A person who was one of Jesus' twelve disciples and is believed to have written the first Gospel

is the same but uses a shorter formal title
St. Matthew
vsSt. Matthew the Apostle
4.1

A follower of Jesus who people say wrote the first Gospel

uses the full official title rather than the shorter form

Surface Forms

St. Matthew the Apostle main

Morphology

St. + Matthew + the + Apostle

The phrase is a literal combination of its parts: 'St.' (saint) + the proper name 'Matthew' + 'the Apostle' (a disciple chosen to spread Jesus's teachings), so a learner who knows these words will infer it refers to the saintly apostle Matthew, one of Jesus's disciples. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows transparent naming conventions, so the meaning is immediately recoverable by a B1 learner familiar with the constituents.

Etymology

St. Matthew the Apostle refers to St. Matthew, a man who collected taxes before he followed Jesus and became one of the twelve apostles. He is traditionally said to have 'written' the Gospel that bears his name, so churches and feast days honour his life and work.