Hebrew language for readers of english

part. participle (grammar)

pass. passive (grammar)

perf. perfect (grammar)

Pers. Persian

pers. personal

Phoen. Phoenician

Pi. Pi‘ēl (Hebrew grammar)

Pil. Pi‘lel (Hebrew grammar)

Pilp. Pilpel (Hebrew grammar)

Pir. Pir‘ēl (Hebrew grammar)

pl. plural

PN Personal Name, Proper Name

Po. Po‘lal (Hebrew grammar)

Pol. Po‘lel (Hebrew grammar)

Polp. Polpal (Hebrew grammar)

possess. possessive (grammar)

p. part. past participle (grammar)

Pr. Proverbs (book of the Bible)

pref. prefix

prep. preposition (grammar)

pres. part. present participle (grammar)

pres. t. present tense (grammar)

prob. probably

pron. pronoun

Ps. Psalms (book of the Bible)

p.t. past tense (grammar)

Pu. Pu‘āl (Hebrew grammar)

Pul. Pu‘āl (Hebrew grammar)

Pulp. Pulpal (Hebrew grammar)

Pun. Punic

Qal (Hebrew grammar)

q.v. quod vide (= which see)

resp. respectively

Rom. Roman

Russ. Russian

Ruth (book of the Bible)

Sab. Sabean

Sam. Samuel (book of the Bible)

Samar. Samaritan

SArab. South Arabic

scil. scilicet (= understood, namely)

Sem. Semitic

Sept. Septuagint

Shaph. Shaph‘el (Hebrew grammar)

Shiph. Shiph‘el (Hebrew grammar)

Shuph. Shuph‘al (Hebrew grammar)

sing. singular (grammar)

s.m. same meaning

Sp. Spanish

st. state

subj. subjunctive (grammar)

subst. substantive, substantival, substantiation

suff. suffix

s.v. sub voce (= under the word)

Syr. Syriac

TA Tel el-Amarna letters

Tiph. Tiph‘el (Hebrew grammar)

tr. transitive (grammar)

Tuph. Tuph‘āl (Hebrew grammar)

Ugar. Ugaritic

ult. ultimate, ultimately

v. verb

var. variant

VArab. Vulgar Arabic

VL Vulgate Latin

vulg. vulgar (linguistically)

Zech. Zechariah (book of the Bible)

Zeph. Zephaniah (book of the Bible)

[[pg-1]]א

א The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The name of the letter is ‘Aleph’, and so called in allusion to its ancient Heb. form, representing the head of an ox (see אֶלֶף^II, אַלּוּף^VI, and cp. Akka. alpu, Arab. alif, Phoen. אלף, whence Gk. Alpha). In pbh it has the numerical value of one. א alternates with other gutterals, as with ה (see e.g. אָמוֹן, Jer. 52:15, instead of הָמוֹן), and with ע (see e.g. מְתָאֵב, Amos 6:5, instead of מֽתָעֵב). It also alternates with י (see e.g. צְבָאִים and צֽבָיִים, pl. of צְבִי). For the interchangeability of א and ה see also in the conjugational system Heb. הִפֽעִיל and Aram. אַפְעֵל, Heb. הִתֽפַּעֵל and Aram. אִתְפַּעֵל. א is used to form secondary verbs and nouns (see e.g. אבטח, אבחן, אַבְטָחָה, אַבֽחָנָה). In Aram. it also serves as the definite article (see □ָא^I) and as the most common subst. and adj. suff. (see □ָא^II).

אַ□ pref. pbh on, upon. [Aram., equivalent of Heb. עַל□.]

א□ (אֲ□, אַ□, אֶ□, אָ□, אִ□) prosthetic א, usually used in collateral forms of nouns beginning with two consonants (see e.g. זָרֹועַ and אֶזֽרוֹעַ), esp. before foreign words (e.g. אַבֽרָקַיִם, אִזֽמֵל, אַסְטְרָטֶג, אַסְפַּקְלַרֽיָה).

□ָא^I the Aram. definite article (corresponding to Heb. הַ□).

□ָא^II the most common subst. and adj. suff. in Aram. (corresponding to Heb. first suff. □ָה.]

אָב^I m.n. (pl. אָבוֹת) 1 father. 2 forefather, patriarch. 3 ancestor, progenitor. 4 head (of a family), leader, chief. 5 God. 6 master, teacher. 7 important, great. 8 pbh parent (male). 9 pbh basic factor, origin, source. 10 nh Father (of the Christian Church). [cp. Aram. אַבָּא, Ugar. ’b, Akka. abu, Arab. abu.] Derivatives: אַבֽהוּת, אַבְהִי, אָבוּת.

אָב^II m.n. ‘Av’ (also ‘Ab’) — name of the fifth month of the Jewish calendar. [Akka. abu, Arab. ab.]

אַב□ pref. pbh arch-, proto-, chief, master. [Properly c. st. of אָב^I.]

אֵב m.n. young shoot, sprout, verdure. [Related to Akka. inbu, Arab. ’abb (= meadow), Aram. אִנְבָּא.] See בְּאִבּוֹ. Derivative: אֲבָבִית.

אַבָּא m.n. 1 pbh father, daddy. 2 pbh ‘Abba’ — title of ancient Rabbis. 3 nh reverend (father). [Aram., properly ‘the father’ (= הָאָב in Heb.).]

אבב to bring forth shoots, sprout; the coming of spring. [Denominated from אָבִיב (= spring). See אֵב.] — Hiph. הֶאֱבִיב 1 pbh (it) brought forth shoots; 2 nh he (it) brought the spring, refreshed, renewed.

אֲבָבִית f.n. 1 pbh eruption, rash (disease). 2 nh exanthema. [Formed from אֵב (q.v.).]

אבגד to spell; to arrange in alphabetical order. [Formed from the first letters in the Heb. alphabet.] — Pi. אִבְגֵּד nh 1 he spelled; 2 he arranged (something) in alphabetical order. Derivative: אִבְגּוּד.

אִבְגּוּד m.n. nh spelling. [Verbal n. of אִבְגֵּד, Pi. of אבגד.]

אַבְגּוּסְט see אוֹגוּסְט.

אַבְגּוּרִים m.n. pl. fw augurs. [L. augur (= diviner, soothsayer; a member of the college of priests in Rome, who foretold the future), transformation of ^*augos, gen. ^*augeris (= increase), related to augēre (= to increase).]

אֶבְגִינוֹס adj. pbh of noble descent, noble. [Gk. eugenes (= well-born), from eu (= well), and genos (= race, descent, gender, kind), which is cogn. with L. genus (= birth, descent, origin, race, sort, kind, class; sex, gender). See ‘eu-’ and ‘genus’ in my cedel and cp. ‘eugenic’ ibid. cp. also אֶבְגֵּנִיקָה.]

אֶבְגֵּנִיקָה f.n. fw eugenics. [Eng. eugenics, coined by Sir Francis Galton in 1883 from the adj. eugenic, which derives from Gk. eugenes (= well-born). See אֶבְגִּינוֹס.

אַבְגָּר m.n. mh the common agrimony (a genus of plants). [Named after abgar, King of Edessa.]

אבד to perish. [Moabite אבד (= to perish), Aram. אֲבַד, Syr. אֱבַד (= he perished), Ugar. ’bd (= to perish), Arab. ’ábada (= it ran away — said of an animal), Ethiop. ’abáda (= he wandered about), Akka. abātu (= to destroy).] — Qal אָבַד he was lost, perished; it strayed (said of an animal). — Niph. נֶאֱבַד he (or it) was lost, perished. — Pi. אִבֵּד 1 he destroyed, wasted; 2 he caused to perish; 3 pbh he lost. — Hith. הִתֽאַבֵּד nh he committed suicide. — Hiph. הֶאֶֽבִיד he caused to perish, destroyed. Derivatives: אָבֵד, אֲבֵדָה, אָבוּד, אִבּוּד, אֲבַדּוֹן, אַבְדָן, אָבְדָן, אוֹבֵד, הֵאָבֽדוּת, הִתֽאַבּֽדוּת, מִתֽאַבֵּד, נֶאֱבָד.

אָבֵד adj. pbh perishable. [From אבד.]

אֲבֵדָה f.n. a lost thing; loss. [Formed from אבד with subst. suff. □ָה.]

אֲבַדּוֹן m.n. destruction, ruin; place of destruction, Abaddon. [Formed with אבד with suff. □וֹן.]

אַבְדִּינוּת f.n. mh dignity or office of the president of the court of justice. [Formed from the contraction of אַב בֵּית דִּין (see אָב^I) with suff. □וּת.][[illegible]]

אַבְדָּלָה f.n. pbh secondary form of הַבְדָּלָה.

אָבְדָן, אַבְדָן m.n. 1 destruction ruin.[[illegible]] 2 nh loss. [Formed from אבד with suff. □ָן.]

אבה to want, be willing, consent. [Akka. abitu (= wish, will, desire), Arab. abay (= he refused). According to Nöldeke Heb. אָבָה also had mostly a negative meaning and the negative part. לֹא was only added for the sake of emphasis. W.M. Müller compares Egypt. ’bj, which means both ‘to want, wish’, and ‘to refuse’. The sense development of this Egypt. verb seems to have been: ‘he wanted, he wanted forcefully, he refused energetically’.] — Qal אָבָה he was willing, consented (see Is. 1:19, Job 39:9, the only passages in the Bible where אָבָה is without the neg. part. לֹא. Derivatives: אֲבוֹי, אֶבְיוֹן(?), אֲבִיּוֹנָה.

אֵבֶה m.n. reed, papyrus. [Possibly related to Arab. abā’, Akka. abu (= reed). cp. אָב^II.]

אַבְהוּת, אֲבָהוּת f.n. mh fatherhood, paternity. [Formed with suff. □וּת] from אָב^I (= father). cp. אָבוּת.] Derivative: אַבְהוּתִי.

אַבֽהוּתִי adj. nh fatherly, paternal. [Formed from אַבֽהוּת with adj. suff. □ִי.]

אַבְהִי, אֲבָהִי adj. nh fatherly, paternal. [Formed from אָב (= father), with adj. suff. □ִי.]

אַבְהָל m.n. mh savine (name of a plant). [Borrowed from Arab. abhal.]

אַבּוּב m.n. 1 pbh flute, pipe, reed. 2 nh tube. 3 nh oboe. [Aram. אַבּוּבָא. Prob. a loan word from Akka. imbūbu (= flute, pipe), which prob. derives from base n-b-b (= was hollow); see נבב. Arab. inbūb (= pipe, tube), is prob. an Aram. loan word.] Derivatives: אַבּוּבִי, אַבּוּבִית, אַבּוּבָן.

אַבּוּבִי adj. nh reedy, tubular. [Formed from אַבּוּב with adj. suff. □ִי.]

אַבּוּבִית f.n. nh 1 a small flute; tubule. 2 Zizyphora (botany). [Formed from אַבּוּב with dimin. suff. □ִית.]

אַבּוּבָן m.n. nh 1 flutist. 2 oboist. [Formed from אַבּוּב with agential suff. □ָן.]

[[pg-2]]אָבוּד adj. pbh lost, perishable. [Properly pass. part. of אָבַד. This is an exception because intransitive verbs regularly have no passive participle. For similar exceptions see בָּטוֹחַ and cp. words there referred to.]

אִבּוּד m.n. pbh 1 destruction, ruin. 2 loss. [Verbal n. of אִבֵּד (= he caused to perish), Pi. of אבד.]

אַבּוּטִילוֹן m.n. nh abutilon (a genus of plants of the mallow family). [Modern L., from Arab. aubūtīlūn, a name coined by the Arab philosopher Avicenna (Ibn-Sina).]

אֲבוֹי interj. woe! alas! [According to ReDak, of imitative origin. (cp. אוֹי and words there referred to). According to Barth, a derivative of אָב (= father), and orig. meaning ‘my father!’. According to Gesenius and König, derived from אָבָה (= he was willing), and lit. meaning ‘wish, desire’.]

אָבוּךְ adj. nh hazy, misty. [Properly pass. part. of אָבַךְ.]

אַבּוּל m.n. pbh arcade, gateway. [From Aram. אַבּוּלָא, which is a loan word from Akka. abullu (= city gate, entrance gate of a building).]

אִבּוּל m.n. pbh mourning. [From אבל.]

אֵבוֹלוּצְיָה see אֵיבוֹלוּצֽיָה.

אַבּוֹלִיצְיוֹנִיזְם m.n. fw abolitionism. [Eng. abolitionism, from abolition, from Fren., from L. abolitiōnem, from abolitus, p. part. of abolēre (= to destroy, efface, abolish), which is prob. a back formation from abolēscere (= to decay gradually, vanish, cease). See ‘abolish’ and ‘-ion’ in my cedel.]

אִבּוּן m.n. nh petrifying, petrification. [Verbal n. of אִבֵּן. See אבן.]

אֵבוּס m.n. 1 manger. 2 pbh feeding receptacle; bowl for working men. [From אבס. אֵבוּס stands for אֱבוּס. For the widening of the Hātāph-Seghōl to Tzēre cp. the nouns אֵזוֹב, אֵזוֹר, אֵטוּן, אֵמוּן, אֵסוּר, אֵפוֹד.]

אָבוּס adj. fed, fattened. [Pass. part. of אבס.]

אִבּוּס m.n. nh feeding, fattening. [From אבס.]

אָבוּץ adj. nh covered with zinc. [From אָבָץ (= zinc).]

אִבּוּץ m.n. nh zincification. [Verbal n. of אִבֵּץ, Pi. of אבץ.]

אִבּוּק m.n. nh 1 covering with dust, dusting. 2 pulverization. [Verbal n. of אִבֵּק, Pi. of אבק^II.]

אֲבוֹקָדוֹ m.n. nh the avocado tree. [Sp., from aguacate, from Nahuatl ahuacatl. cp. ‘avocado’ and ‘alligator pear’ in my cedel.]

אֲבוּקָה f.n. pbh torch. [Of uncertain origin.]

אָבוֹת m.n. pl. 1 pl. of אָב (= father). 2 pbh parents, patriarchs.

אָבוּת f.n. mh fatherhood, paternity. [Formed with suff. □וּת from אָב (= father). cp. אַבְהוּת.]

אַבְזֵם m.n. nh buckle. [From Arab. ibzīm (= clasp, buckle).] Derivative: אבזם.

אבזם to buckle. [Denominated from אַבְזֵם.] — Pi. אִבְזֵם tr. v. nh he buckled, fastened with a buckle. — Pu. אֻבְזַם nh was buckled.

אַבְזֶֽקֶת f.n. pbh 1 breaking, corrosion. 2 moth-eaten condition of garments. [According to Fleischer, quoted by Levy, the above word is ‘perhaps to be connected with Pers. bazak (= centipede, woodlouse)’.]

אַבְזָר, אֲבִיזָר m.n. pbh (pl. אַבְזָרִים, resp. אֲבִיזָרִים) accessory, spare part. [Aram. אֲבִיזְרָא, אַבְזְרָא (= spice, condiment; whence ‘accessory’), from Arab. abzār (= spice, condiment), from Pers. efzār (of s.m.).]

אַבְזָרָן m.n. nh a person in charge of accessories. [Formed from אַבֽזָר with agential suff. □ָן.]

אֶֽבַח m.n. mh slaughter. [Back formation from אִבְחָה.]

אבח to slaughter. [Denominated from אִבֽחָה.] — Pi. אִבַּח tr. v. mh he put to sword, slaughtered.

אִבְחָה f.n. slaughter (a hapax legomenon in the Bible, occurring Ezek. 21:20 in the phrase אִבְחַת חֶרֶב, ‘slaughter by sword’). [Formed from base אבח with subst. suff. □ָה. Related to Akka. abāhu (= to slaughter, torment), which is synonymous with ṭabāhu (= to slaughter). Accordingly the noun אִבֽחָה is related to טִבְחָה (= slaughter).] Derivatives: אבח, אֶבַח.

אִבְחוּן m.n. nh diagnosis. [Verbal n. of אִבְחֵן, Pi. of אבחן.]

אַבְחַי m.n. nh protozoan. [Formed from אַב□ (= proto-), and חַי (= living).]

אַבְחֹֽמֶר m.n. nh protoplasm. [Formed from אַב□ (= proto-), and חֹמֶר (= material).]

אבחן to diagnose. [Back formation from אַבֽחָנָה.] — Pi. אִבְחֵן tr. v. nh he diagnosed, diagnosticated. — Pu. אֻבְחַן nh was diagnosed, was diagnosticated. Derivatives: אִבְחוּן, אַבֽחָן.

אַבְחָן m.n. nh diagnostician. [From אבחן.] Derivative: אַבֽחָנוּת.

אַבְחָנָה f.n. mh the result of testing; diagnosis. [A secondary form of הַבֽחָנָה (= the action of testing, discrimination). הַפְעָלָה, the regular form of the verbal noun in the Hiph., primarily denotes the action expressed by the verb, secondarily also the result of this action. On analogy of Talmudic Heb. nouns like אַבְדָּלָה, אַבְטָלָה, אַזְהָרָה, which are aramaisms for הַבְדָּלָה, הַבֽטָלָה, הַזְהָרָה, in nh the form אַפֽעָלָה was introduced to denote the result of an action, in contradistinction to the form הַפְעָלָה, which denotes the action par excellence. The most frequently used אַפְעָלָה-forms in nh are אַסְפָּקָה, אַפְתָּעָה, אַרֽגָּעָה, אַשְׁלָיָה.] Derivative: אַבְחָנָתִי.

אַבְחָנוּת f.n. nh diagnostics. [Formed from אַבֽחָן with suff. □וּת.]

אַבְחָנָתִי adj. nh diagnostic. [Formed from אַבֽחָנָה with adj. suff. □ִי.]