About the history and origins of words.
2
votes
3answers
136 views
Root of word צְלוֹתְהוֹן?
Looking at the Kaddish Shalem focusing on the words תִּתְקַבֵּל צְלוֹתְהוֹן, what is the etymology of the word tzelot-hon? Is this construct even hebrew? I found the root צְלָא meaning "pray" with ...
5
votes
1answer
98 views
What is the Shekhina?
To what are people referring when they talk about the Shekhina? Is it a form of God? A part of God? An attribute of God? Perhaps it is something else entirely?
Also, what is the etymology of the ...
10
votes
2answers
119 views
Why do we call the Festival of Matzos “Passover”?
Today we observe what we call "Passover" or "Pesach" beginning on the evening of the 15th of Nisan, and then for seven days in Israel and eight days elsewhere. But the Torah, at Lev. 23:5 and Exodus ...
2
votes
2answers
94 views
Why is hell termed Gehinnom?
Why is the place that that wicked are punished for their sins after death termed Gehinnom? Is there is an association with Gei ben Hinnom where idolatry was performed? If so why was this place singled ...
2
votes
2answers
121 views
What is the origin and meaning of mabrouk?
Instead of mazal tov, some sefardim use the term mabrouk(sp?). What does that term mean and what is its origin?
11
votes
1answer
228 views
Origin of the term Yoshke?
I have often heard Jews refer to Jesus as "Yoshke". Is the origin of that appellation based on halachic issues regarding mentioning names of foreign deities, or some other Jewish law or custom? When ...
2
votes
1answer
55 views
Understanding the usage of וגומר and וכולו
Why are the terms וגומר and וכולו used instead of just writing out the rest of the sentence? When were these terms first instituted?
5
votes
1answer
79 views
Where was it first said that “The generation is diminishing and diminishing”? (הדור הולך ופוחת)
in Hebrew we have an adage that says “הדור הולך ופוחת” ("Hador holekh wepocheth"), meaning “the generation is getting more and more diminished", which may have meant that there are fewer and fewer new ...
4
votes
3answers
238 views
What is the origin for Reform to call their synagogues a “Temple”?
Why does Reform typically call it a Temple, vs a Beit Knesset, a Beit Sefer, or a shul? I imagine the Hebrew would have been the obvious go to, if they chose to ignore the yiddush.
Not that I know ...
3
votes
2answers
86 views
What does the word לאַטקעס (latkes) mean?
לאַטקעס is the Yiddish word used for the potato pancakes commonly eaten on Chanukah. Where does the word לאַטקעס come from originally? What exactly does it mean?
4
votes
0answers
84 views
Origin/meaning of common surname Naiman (or similar)
What is the origin and/or meaning of the common Jewish surname Naiman (or Neiman, Najman, etc.)?
According to this site the common Jewish name is of Germanic origin, meaning "Newcomer".
However, ...
4
votes
1answer
110 views
The (female) name Freeda amongst Sefardim
I am under the impression that the name Freeda is a female Yiddish name. For some reason it seems to be very popular amongst the Sephardim. How did this happen?
0
votes
0answers
100 views
Why is Hebrew's word for “widget” so different than most other languages'? [closed]
I've been studying Hebrew for about a whole month now. I've discovered that the word "widget" in English, while translating to "widget" in most other languages, translates to "יישומון" in Hebrew. I ...
8
votes
3answers
131 views
What is the etymology of סמאל?
I've heard that סמאל (Samael, a "bad" angel) is related to the word שמאל (left). Is there any basis for this, and are there any other explanations for his name?
The Hebrew Wikipedia claims that it is ...
4
votes
1answer
180 views
Does 'Levi-' as half of a surname indicate a family of Levites?
I've come across a number of surnames of the form Levi-[Something]:
Tullio Levi-Civita was from an Italian Jewish family.
Claude Lévi-Strauss was from an Alsatian Jewish family.
Rita Levi-Montalcini ...
3
votes
2answers
88 views
Clothing and shame, etymologically speaking
I have been unable to find an etymological connection between the root for shame בשש (especially as it turns into the forms of בושה בושת) and the word for "clothe" לבש. Shame was introduced in ...
6
votes
1answer
106 views
Root of the name Aharon
What is the etymology of the name Aharon? The only serious site I've found that proposes an etymology is this, but I'm hoping for a more classical source, i.e. Chazal or Rishonim.
5
votes
2answers
116 views
What does שעטנז (sha'atnez) mean?
.שעטנז.
I'm asking about the literal meaning behind the word, its etymology, etc.
10
votes
3answers
513 views
Is Hebrew the mother of all languages spoken today in the world?
I often wonder what language Adam, Seth, Noah and Abraham (may peace and blessings be upon them) used to speak. What was their native tongue? Was it classical Hebrew? If yes, then would it be right to ...
0
votes
1answer
70 views
Extra yud in Yerushalaim
Why and by whom was there a yud added to make "ירושלים" instead of the original "ירושלם"?
8
votes
1answer
95 views
How does a door hit against a lintel (משקוף)?
Rashi in several places (Gen. 41:6; Ex. 12:7, 21:25; Lev. 26:36) writes that משקוף ("lintel") is related to the Aramaic root שקף ("beat"), "because the door beats against it."
How so? Doesn't the ...
4
votes
2answers
220 views
Etymology of the word “Kvater”
What is the etymology of the word "Kvater"? Kvater is what we call the person that carries the baby boy into a Bris.
2
votes
1answer
218 views
Etymology of the word “Vasikin”
What is the etymology of the word Vasikin? Also is Vasikin Hebrew or Aramaic?
7
votes
2answers
86 views
When did Ben Teshuva become Baal Teshuva?
Rabbeinu Yonah in Bava Basra 39a talks about someone who does Teshuva and calls him a Ben Teshuva. What is the earliest reference in history to the words Baal Teshuva? And why did it change from Ben ...
5
votes
1answer
70 views
Zmirot vs Pizmoniim
How is it that Ashkenaz and Sfardiim have different names for the same exact thing.
Do both Zmira and Pizmon mean the same thing? What are the origination of people calling them either one?
I know ...
4
votes
1answer
333 views
What do the names Pesil, Pesa, and Pesha mean?
What is the meaning and source of the name Pesil or Pesa or Pesha?
4
votes
4answers
159 views
Why do we call praying, Davening?
Why do we call praying Davening? What is the source of this word? Where did this originate?
9
votes
2answers
138 views
Why is the Machzor called a Machzor?
The Siddur we use for Yom Tov is known as a Machzor. What does it mean and where did this originate?
11
votes
2answers
334 views
חס ושלום! (whatever that means)
What on earth does חס ושלום mean literally, or what is its etymology? Why do people use that phrase in particular to "ward off" bad things? (That last part of the question is not asking whether saying ...
5
votes
1answer
75 views
How and when did the word “Kollel” come to mean “an institution for paying scholars to study Torah”?
How and when did the word "Kollel" come to mean "an institution for paying scholars to study Torah"?
If I'm not mistaken, the Hebrew word "kollel" means "includes."
But today we've all heard of the ...
6
votes
1answer
123 views
“Boich sevarah”
There is a common Yiddish phrase used to describe an arbitrary reasoning that is not based on the sources: "Boich sevarah" -- literally, "stomach reasoning." What is the exact meaning of this phrase, ...
3
votes
1answer
192 views
What is the origin of “shul”?
What is the origin of the word "shul", meaning "synagogue"? It seems derived from the German "Schule", meaning "school". Moreover, Italian Jews call synagogues "scuola", which also means "school" ...
8
votes
5answers
1k views
Etymology/connection between Ari, Aryeh, Yehudah, Leib, and Leibel
What is the relationship between the following names that often go together is some combination?
Ari/Aryeh
Yehudah
Leib/Leibel
I've encountered many men, young and old, with the following first ...
5
votes
1answer
131 views
דילמא == Dilemma?
Is there documentation to prove that the Aramaic word "דילמא" is a transliteration or derivation of the Greek word "dilemma"?
If so, this fact is informative to G'mara-learning in understanding the ...
2
votes
1answer
123 views
Are “tzipor” and “tziporen” related?
Are the words ציפור (bird) and ציפורן (finger nail OR a spice [found in k'tores]) etymologically related? I heard that both were connected to the root צ.פ.ר (arise) or to anatomical protuberance but I ...
7
votes
2answers
643 views
Etymology of the Name Feivel
Where does the Jewish name Feivel (or Feivish) come from?
What does it actually mean?
6
votes
4answers
334 views
Etymology of the surname “Katz”
Are there sources for the etymology of the surname Katz being an acronym for Kohen Tzedek?
Is that simply a backronym?
5
votes
2answers
223 views
3
votes
2answers
107 views
Etymology of “Grager”
What is the Etymology of “Grager”?
Grager is the noisemaker we use on Purim during the Megila when Haman's name is read.
3
votes
3answers
165 views
Etymology of “Krepel”
What is the Etymology of “Krepel”?
Krepel is a 3 cornered stuffed piece of dough that we eat on Purim, Hoshana Rabah, and Erev Yom Kippur.
2
votes
2answers
464 views
Etymology of “kimpeturin”
What is the etymology of the yiddish term "kimpeturin," which refers to a woman who is recovering after childbirth?
3
votes
3answers
127 views
Is there a single syntactic class “פעיל” in Biblical Hebrew?
Is there a unique class of Biblical Hebrew words of the form "פעיל"?Is the putative class of Biblical Hebrew words strictly a class of nouns or adjectives?If not, is it strictly divisible into two ...
5
votes
1answer
204 views
Are the Aramaic root ק.ב.ל and the Hebrew root ק.ב.ל related?
When the word מקבילות comes up in parashas T'ruma, Rash"i defines it based on the Aramaic root ק.ב.ל, commonly found in the preposition לקבל (against or opposite) to mean physically across ...
3
votes
2answers
271 views
What's the etymology of the Hassidic term “b'sho'oh” for a chaperoned quasi-date?
I've heard in the Hassidic world, if two families decide that one's young fellow should meet the other's young lady, the couple has a brief, chaperoned, meeting, known as a b'shoh (spelling?), to ...
5
votes
3answers
210 views
What are some examples of Jewish names? [closed]
What are Jewish sounding names that come from various occupations and locations? Please give the "rough" translation and background too.
9
votes
5answers
184 views
Males named מיכל?
Where does the male name מיכל (as in יחיאל מיכל) come from? Is it a diminutive/corruption/translation/elision of מיכאל, derived therefrom in some other way, or simply a false cognate?
3
votes
5answers
287 views
Etymology of “Shtiebel”
Is there an etymological connection between the Yiddish word "shtiebel" and the English word "steeple"? They seem to overlap a lot in usage and pronunciation. A cursory search reveals that "shtiebel" ...
4
votes
4answers
205 views
What's the origin of the name “Jew”?
Why are we called "the Jews"? Did Hashem pick out this name for us? What does the word "Jew" mean?
4
votes
2answers
215 views
6
votes
3answers
247 views
