List of 105 Words That Came From Israel
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Need to find English words that came from Israel? Here's a useful list of such terms. Here you'll find a range of words that entered English from your chosen point of origin.
Word | Origin |
agora (currency) | From Hebrew ăgōrāh, meaning "payment" or "coin." |
aliyah | From Modern Hebrew ʽalīyāh. |
almemar | From Hebrew almēmār. |
alpha | From Hebrew āleph, via Greek álpha. |
amen | From Hebrew āmēn. |
baal | From Hebrew baʽal. |
babel | From Hebrew Bābhel. |
bar mitzvah | From Hebrew bar miṣwāh, meaning "son of the commandment." |
bat mitzvah | From Hebrew bath mişwāh, meaning "daughter of the commandment." |
behemoth | From Hebrew bĕhēmōth. |
berith milah | From Hebrew bĕrīth mīlāh. |
beta | From Hebrew bēth, via Greek bêta. |
bethel | From Hebrew bēth'ēl, meaning "house of God." |
bris | From Hebrew bĕrīth. |
cabal | From Late Hebrew qabbālāh. |
cassia | From Greek kassia, of Semitic origin. |
challah | From Hebrew ḥallāh. |
cherub | From Hebrew kĕrūbh, via Greek cheroub. |
chutzpah | From Late Hebrew ḥuṣpāh. |
cider | From Hebrew shēkhār. |
cor | From Hebrew kōr, via Late Latin corus. |
corban | From Hebrew qorbān, meaning "offering." |
davit | Probably from the name David. |
delta | From Greek delta, of Semitic origin. |
dybbuk | From Late Hebrew dibbūq. |
ephah | From Hebrew ēphāh, which came from Egyptian 'pt. |
ganef | Can be traced back to Hebrew gannābh. |
gerah | From Hebrew gērāh. |
golem | From Hebrew gōlem, meaning "shapeless mass." |
habdalah | From Hebrew haḇdālāh, meaning "separation." |
haftarah | From Hebrew haphṭārāh. |
halacha | From Hebrew halākhāh. |
hallelujah | From Hebrew hallĕlūyāh, meaning "praise the LORD." |
halutz | From New Hebrew ḥālūṣ. |
hazan | From Late Hebrew ḥazzān. |
heder | From Hebrew ḥedher, meaning "room." |
hosanna | From Hebrew hōshīʽāh-nnā. |
iota | From Greek iōta, of Semitic origin. |
jezebel | From Hebrew Izebhel. |
jubilee | From Hebrew yōbhēl. |
kabbalah | From Hebrew qabbālāh. |
kappa | From Greek kappa, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew kaph. |
kashrut | From Hebrew kashrūth. |
kibbutz | From Modern Hebrew qibbūṣ. |
kiddush | From Late Hebrew qiddūsh, meaning "sanctification." |
klezmer | From Hebrew kĕlēy zemer, meaning "musical instruments." |
kosher | From Hebrew kāshēr, meaning "appropriate." |
lambda | From Greek, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew lāmedh. |
lehayim | From Hebrew l'ḥaim, meaning "to life." |
leviathan | From Hebrew liwyāthān. |
maftir | From Hebrew maphṭīr. |
mahzor | From Hebrew maḥăzōr. |
manna | From Hebrew mān. |
matzo | From Hebrew maṣṣāh, via Yiddish matse. |
maven | From Late Hebrew mēbhīn, via Yiddish meyvn. |
mazel tov | From Late Hebrew mazzāl tōbh, meaning "good luck." |
mazuma | From Hebrew mĕzummān. |
megillah | From Hebrew mĕgillāh, meaning "scroll." |
menorah | From Hebrew mĕnōrāh. |
meshuga | From Hebrew mĕshuggā. |
messiah | From Hebrew māshīaḥ or Aramaic mĕshīḥā. |
mezuzah | From Hebrew mĕzūzāh, meaning "doorpost." |
midrash | From Hebrew midhrāsh, meaning "exposition." |
mikvah | From Hebrew miqwāh, meaning "purification bath." |
minyan | From Hebrew minyān, meaning "number" or "count." |
mishpachah | From Hebrew mishpāḥāh, meaning "family" or "clan." |
mitzvah | From Hebrew miṣwāh, meaning "commandment." |
mohel | From Hebrew mōhēl. |
moshav | From Modern Hebrew mōshābh. |
nabla | From Greek, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew nēbhel. |
nu | From Greek ny, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew nūn. |
omer | From Hebrew ʽōmer. |
parashah | From Hebrew pārāshāh, meaning "explanation." |
pi | From Greek pei, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew pē. |
rabbi | From Hebrew rabbī. |
rho | From Greek rhō, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew rēsh. |
sabra | From Modern Hebrew ṣabhār. |
schmooze | From Hebrew shĕmu'ōth, meaning "news" or "rumor." |
schwa | From Hebrew schĕwā'. |
seder | From Hebrew sēdher, meaning "order." |
selah | From Hebrew selāh. |
seraph | From Hebrew śĕrāphīm. |
shadchan | From Middle Hebrew shadhkhān or Late Hebrew shiddēkh, meaning "arrange a marriage." |
shalom | From Hebrew shālōm, meaning "peace." |
shammes | From Late Hebrew shāmmāsh. |
shegetz | From Hebrew sheqeṣ, meaning "blemish" or "abomination." |
shekel | From Hebrew sheqel. |
Sheol | From Hebrew Shĕ'ōl. |
shibboleth | From Hebrew shibbōleth, meaning "stream." |
shiksa | From Hebrew sheqeṣ, meaning "blemish" or "abomination." |
shiva | From Hebrew shibhʽāh, meaning "seven." |
shofar | From Hebrew shōphār. |
siddur | From Late Hebrew siddūr. |
sukkah | From Hebrew sukkāh. |
sycamine | Can be traced back to Hebrew šiqmāh. |
tallith | From Hebrew ṭallīth, meaning "cover." |
Talmud | From Hebrew talmūdh, meaning "instruction." |
tau | From Greek, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew tāw. |
teraph | From Hebrew tĕrāphīm. |
Torah | From Hebrew tōrāh. |
tref | From Hebrew ṭĕrēphāh. |
tsuris | From Hebrew ṣārāh, via Yiddish tsures. |
tzitzit | From Hebrew ṣīṣīth. |
yeshiva | From Late Hebrew yĕshībhāh. |
zaddik | From Hebrew ṣaddīq. |