Bible Dictionary
ADO
Ado means a disturbance, fuss, or commotion. In the account of Jairus’s daughter, Jesus asked why the mourners were making such a disturbance.
Definition
Ado means trouble, fuss, disturbance, or commotion. In older English, “make ado” described making a noise or causing an uproar.
Biblical Usage
Jesus used the expression when asking why people were making a disturbance and weeping over Jairus’s daughter.
Historical Background
The term is an Old English substantive and was used in early English versions to translate words meaning tumult, uproar, or noise.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>a-doo': Found only in Mr 5:39 King James Version: "Why make ye this ado and weep?" Here "make ado" is used to translate the Greek verb thorubeomai (compare Mt 9:23 the King James Version, where it is likewise rendered "making a noise"). "Ado" as a substantive is Old English for "trouble" or "fuss," used only in the sing.; and in the early English versions it combined well with the verb "make," as here, to translate the Greek word rendered elsewhere "causing an uproar," or "tumult," "making a noise," etc. (see Ac 17:5; 20:10). Compare Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, III, 4, "We'll keep no great ado;--a friend or two."</p><p>George B. Eager</p>