david

A male given name from Hebrew.

David Copperfield. Dwight David Eisenhower. Michelangelo's David. None of these Davids would seem the same if their names were Dave. David, with its final "d", sounds finished and complete, whereas Dave just kind of hangs there in the air, indefinitely.

Well, don't think I'll settle for so little, Mr. Talbot. Or should I call you David? I think you look like a David, you know, righteous and clean living and all of that.

The second king of Judah and Israel, the successor of King Saul in the Hebrew Bible; the son of Jesse and the father of Nathan and King Solomon.

David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.

Some devout Christians are among the most fervent advocates of the death penalty, contradicting Jesus Christ and misinterpreting Holy Scriptures and numerous examples of mercy. We remember God’s forgiveness of Cain, who killed Abel, and the adulterer King David, who arranged the killing of Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, his lover.

A surname originating as a patronymic common in Wales, in honor of the ancient Saint David of Wales.

A female given name, often combined with a feminine middle name (e.g. David Ann).

A place name:

A person or group considered unlikely to prevail; an underdog.

Coordinate term: Goliath

But the essential forces were the American immigrant, the American missionary, the Declaration of Independence, and the ox-team. Those were the champions of America. They were the Davids against the Goliaths of British monopoly.