hosanna

Hoh-zan´uh

A Hebrew expression of two words meaning “Save, I [we] pray” (Ps 118:25), but transliterated as one word in Greek and then English. Ps 118:25 was recited repeatedly in the liturgy of the Festival of Tabernacles (Booths) and became associated with messianic expectations. In the Gospels, Jesus is hailed as Messiah by use of the words of (Ps 118:25-26) as he enters Jerusalem (John 12:13; with variations in Matt 21:9, Matt 21:15).