Gemara

American

[guh-mahr-uh, guh-mah-rah, guh-maw-ruh] / gəˈmɑr ə, gə mɑˈrɑ, gəˈmɔ rə /

noun

the section of the Talmud consisting essentially of commentary on the Mishnah.
the Talmud.

Gemara British

/ ɡɛˈmɔrə, ɡɛmaˈra /

noun

Judaism the main body of the Talmud, consisting of a record of ancient rabbinical debates about the interpretation of the Mishna and constituting the primary source of Jewish religious law See also Talmud

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of Gemara

C17: from Aramaic gemārā completion, from gemār to complete

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Gemara The Gemara, which in Aramaic means "to study and to know" is a collection of scholarly discussions on Jewish law dating from around 200 to 500AD.

From BBC • Oct. 29, 2013

The Mishnah and Gemara combined constitute the Talmud as it is strictly understood.

From BBC • Oct. 29, 2013

The Gemara is written in Aramaic, and like the Mishnah lacks punctuation.

From BBC • Oct. 29, 2013

Rashi Students generally look at this section after reading a few lines of the Mishnah and Gemara.

From BBC • Oct. 29, 2013

And the Talmud includes together the Mischna and the Gemara.

From Pascal's Pensées by Pascal, Blaise

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023