Hebrew

[hee-broo]

noun

1. a member of the Semitic peoples inhabiting ancient Palestine and claiming descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; an Israelite.

2. a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic family, the language of the ancient Hebrews, which, although not in a vernacular use from 100 b.c. to the 20th century, was retained as the scholarly and liturgical language of Jews and is now the national language of Israel. Heb

adjective

1. Hebraic.

2. noting or pertaining to the script developed from the Aramaic and early Hebraic alphabets, used since about the 3rd century b.c. for the writing of Hebrew, and later for Yiddish, Ladino, and other languages.

Hebrew

/ ˈhiːbruː /

noun

1. the ancient language of the Hebrews, revived as the official language of Israel. It belongs to the Canaanitic branch of the Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages

2. a member of an ancient Semitic people claiming descent from Abraham; an Israelite

3. archaic,  a Jew

adjective

1. of or relating to the Hebrews or their language

2. archaic,  Jewish

Hebrew

1. The language of the Hebrews, in which the Old Testament was written. It is the language of the modern state of Israel.

Other Word Forms

• non-Hebrew noun
• pre-Hebrew adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hebrew¹

before 1000; Middle English Hebreu, variant (with H- < Latin ) of Ebreu < Old French < Medieval Latin Ebrēus for Latin Hebraeus < Late Greek Hebraîos < Aramaic ʿIbhraij; replacing Old English Ebrēas (plural) < Medieval Latin Ebrēī

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hebrew¹

C13: from Old French Ebreu, from Latin Hebraeus, from Greek Hebraios, from Aramaic `ibhray, from Hebrew `ibhrī one from beyond (the river)

Example Sentences

Two people died and several were wounded during the attack on the northern English city’s Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue after the attacker rammed his car into the gates and began stabbing people, police said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Trial judge Mr Justice Wall said the background of the case was "coincidental" to last week's attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester.

Read more on BBC

Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead by police outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue after a car and knife attack that saw two Jewish men killed.

Read more on BBC

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Humboldt University in Berlin have developed a way to capture nearly all the light emitted from tiny diamond defects known as color centers.

Read more on Science Daily

Inside, Hebrew graffiti reads, "the last Samurai" – a reference to a Hollywood film about a 19th Century Japanese warrior outgunned by modern weapons.

Read more on BBC