Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - israel

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Greek Israel, from Hebrew Yisra'el  1. Jacob 2  2. the Jewish people  3. a people chosen by God  • ~ adjective  II. geographical name  1. kingdom in ancient Palestine comprising the lands occupied by the Hebrew people; established about 1025 B.C.; divided about 933 B.C. into a S kingdom (Judah) & a N kingdom (~)  2. (or Northern Kingdom) (or Ephraim) the N portion of the Hebrew kingdom after the division capital Samaria  3. country SW Asia bordering on the Mediterranean; a republic established 1948 capital Jerusalem area 7993 square miles (20,782 square kilometers), population 4,037,620 — see Palestine