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 Words From

• non-Hebrew noun adjective
• pre-Hebrew adjective noun

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

These rebel women had Polish, Hebrew, and Yiddish names, as well as nicknames.

From Time

That’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.

From Ozy

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.

From Washington Post

Presented 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.

From Time

That’s why Every Life Is On Fire daringly brings ideas from the Hebrew Scriptures and uses them to unpack the science.

From Nautilus

So why did the God of the Hebrew people choose such a scandalous setting for becoming human?

From The Daily Beast

They were conducted entirely in Hebrew, a language the U.S. native does not speak, although he was provided a translator.

From The Daily Beast

The name Easter may, or may not, be derived from the Sumerian goddess Inanna, or Ishtar—the source of the Hebrew name Esther.

From The Daily Beast

Then just 8-years-old he saw writing on a deli Billboard that was in Hebrew.

From The Daily Beast

But he insist his character, Petel (Hebrew for raspberry) has a universal appeal.

From The Daily Beast

He was converted and baptized, and was the first Hebrew instructor at Harvard college.

From Project Gutenberg

The verb (—) in the Hebrew, when connected with the name of God in different other passages, has the same import.

From Project Gutenberg

The Greek word has become blended with the Hebrew phrase, and the compound used as a formula of execration.

From Project Gutenberg

In the Hebrew the Beautiful place is expressed by the word Sapir, which some take for the proper name of a city.

From Project Gutenberg

We owe it neither to the Syriac tongue nor to the Hebrew, a jargon of the Syriac, in which adultery is called niuph.

From Project Gutenberg