# Hebrew

Pronunciation: say "HEE-broo" /ˈhiːbɹuː/

## Noun

1. The Semitic language of the ancient Hebrews and of Jewish scripture, revived in modern times as the main language of Israel.
   - Simple: A Semitic language spoken by Jewish people and written from right to left.
   - _Modern Hebrew is now spoken by millions of people across Israel._
   - _He translated the ancient text from Hebrew into English._
3. A person belonging to the Semitic people who trace their ancestry to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
   - Simple: A person who belongs to an ancient people descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
   - _The ancient Hebrews are described throughout the early books of the Bible._
   - _Abraham is regarded as the first Hebrew in many traditions._
4. The system of letters used to write the Hebrew language.
   - Simple: The set of letters used to write the Hebrew language, written from right to left.
   - _The ancient scroll was inscribed entirely in Hebrew._
   - _Calligraphers spent years perfecting the curves of written Hebrew._
5. A person descended from Eber, the patriarch named in the Bible.
   - Simple: A person descended from Eber, a man named in the Bible.
   - _Some traditions hold that the Hebrews took their name from their ancestor Eber._
   - _Biblical genealogy presents Abraham as a Hebrew through his descent from Eber._
6. A playful term for speech or writing that is impossible to make sense of. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A joking word for speech or writing that no one can understand.
   - _The legal contract was pure Hebrew to anyone without a law degree._
   - _To the new intern, the engineers' jargon sounded like Hebrew._

## Adjective

2. Relating to the Hebrew people or their language.
   - Simple: Belonging to the Jewish people or their language.
   - _The scholar specialized in Hebrew poetry from the medieval period._
   - _Many Hebrew customs have been passed down through the generations._

## Origin

The word entered Middle English as 'Ebreu' from Old French 'Ebreu', from Latin 'hebraeus' or 'hebraicus', which came from Ancient Greek 'Hebraîos', from Aramaic 'ʿiḇray', ultimately from Hebrew 'ʿiḇrī'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hebrew (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).