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

She also reads Hebrew, had her bat mitzvah and, like her mom and dad, loves to roam the city.

From Los Angeles Times

At the time, she said it would "be an honour" to have the book translated into Hebrew by a company which shared her political position.

From BBC

In the video, as Ben Gvir speaks, Barghouti – who is fluent in Hebrew – can be seen nodding and trying to break in, but the short clip ends before he does.

From BBC

As they descend on Tamra, a voice can be heard shouting, in Hebrew: "On the village, on the village."

From BBC

"We would sit in silence, just a bunch of women dressed in white, holding signs in Hebrew, Arabic and English saying: 'compassion', 'peace', 'nutritional security'," she told me.

From BBC