Hebrew
a member of the Semitic peoples inhabiting ancient Palestine and claiming descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; an Israelite.
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. Abbreviation: Heb
Origin of Hebrew
1Other words from Hebrew
- non-Hebrew, noun, adjective
- pre-Hebrew, adjective, noun
Words Nearby Hebrew
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use Hebrew in a sentence
These rebel women had Polish, Hebrew, and Yiddish names, as well as nicknames.
Why the Stories of Jewish Women Who Fought the Nazis Remained Hidden for So Long | Judy Batalion | April 8, 2021 | TimeThat’s because the wide-eyed man with a gentle grin that refuses to leave his face had decided to “make an aliyah” — the Hebrew word for “elevation” or “going up” — by moving his family to Israel four years ago on the basis of their Jewish origin.
Her husband David, 70, is executive director of Kavod v’Nichum, Hebrew for honor and comfort, a national organization that promotes traditional Jewish funeral practices.
A Maryland couple opened their home to a Honduran mother and son. They ended up sharing more than space. | Stephanie García | January 30, 2021 | Washington PostPresented in Hebrew with English subtitles, Losing Alice comes to Apple’s streaming service from Israel—and is thus the kind of title that, as recently as a decade ago, struggled to find a home on stateside television.
The Best Result of the Streaming Boom? America Finally Loves Foreign-Language TV | Judy Berman | January 22, 2021 | TimeThat’s why Every Life Is On Fire daringly brings ideas from the Hebrew Scriptures and uses them to unpack the science.
The Physicist’s New Book of Life - Issue 92: Frontiers | Michael Brooks | October 21, 2020 | Nautilus
So why did the God of the Hebrew people choose such a scandalous setting for becoming human?
They were conducted entirely in Hebrew, a language the U.S. native does not speak, although he was provided a translator.
The Strange Case of the Christian Zionist Terrorist | Creede Newton | December 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe name Easter may, or may not, be derived from the Sumerian goddess Inanna, or Ishtar—the source of the Hebrew name Esther.
Then just 8-years-old he saw writing on a deli Billboard that was in Hebrew.
Out of the Birdcage: How Mike Nichols Made Gay Culture Mainstream | Kevin Fallon | November 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut he insist his character, Petel (Hebrew for raspberry) has a universal appeal.
Trans in the Holy Land: ‘Marzipan Flowers,’ Tal Kallai, and the Shattering of Israel’s LGBT Taboos | Itay Hod | November 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe was converted and baptized, and was the first Hebrew instructor at Harvard college.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellThe verb (—) in the Hebrew, when connected with the name of God in different other passages, has the same import.
The Ordinance of Covenanting | John CunninghamThe Greek word has become blended with the Hebrew phrase, and the compound used as a formula of execration.
In the Hebrew the Beautiful place is expressed by the word Sapir, which some take for the proper name of a city.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousWe owe it neither to the Syriac tongue nor to the Hebrew, a jargon of the Syriac, in which adultery is called niuph.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
British Dictionary definitions for Hebrew
/ (ˈhiːbruː) /
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
a member of an ancient Semitic people claiming descent from Abraham; an Israelite
archaic, or offensive a Jew
of or relating to the Hebrews or their language
archaic, or offensive Jewish
Origin of Hebrew
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for Hebrew
The language of the Hebrews, in which the Old Testament was written. It is the language of the modern state of Israel.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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