Hebrew
/ˈhiːbɹuː/ adjective, noun, proper noun
Forms Hebrews Ebrew
- adjective Of or pertaining to the Hebrew people or language.
- noun (countable) A member or descendant of a Semitic people claiming descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- noun (countable) A descendant of the biblical Patriarch Eber.
- noun (uncountable, colloquial) Unintelligible speech or writing.
- proper noun The Semitic language spoken by the Hebrew people.
- proper noun The writing system used in Hebrew language.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English Ebreu, from Old French Ebreu, from Latin hebraeus or hebraicus, from Ancient Greek Ἑβραῖος (Hebraîos), from Aramaic עִבְרַי (ʿiḇray), from Hebrew עִבְרִי (ʿiḇrī́).
Webster’s 1913
- noun An appellative of Abraham or of one of his descendants, esp. in the line of Jacob; an Israelite; a Jew.
- noun The language of the Hebrews; --one of the Semitic family of languages.
- adjective Of or pertaining to the Hebrews; as, the Hebrew language or rites.
- adjective = Jewish calendar.
Etymology [F. Hébreu, L. Hebraeus, Gr. 'ibhri.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “Hebrew”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details