Hebrew-English Cognates: Vocabulary List For Easy Reference
Written byMarta Krzeminska- Read time5 mins
- Comments0
There are quite a lot of Hebrew-English cognates that make the process of learning Hebrew much easier.
What is a cognate?
These are words that are related or derived from each other.
For example, the word cider (a refreshing beverage in English) comes from the Hebrew word (shekhar) meaning “strong drink”.
There are also many Hebrew words that are so common in English that they have become part of the English language (e.g. amen after prayers).
Cognates are always a good starting point when learning new vocabulary since you’re able to acquire a large number of already-known words very quickly.
See the lists (by no means exhaustive) below and bookmark this page for easy reference.
List of Hebrew-English cognates
Here you’ll find an alphabetical list of many Hebrew-English cognates.
| English | Hebrew origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| abacus | dust | |
| agora | small coin | |
| aliyah | ascent | |
| almemar | bema | |
| amen | certainly | |
| baal | lord | |
| babel | to confound | |
| Bar Mitzvah | son of the commandment | |
| bath | volume measurement | |
| bat mitzvah | daughter of the commandment | |
| behemoth | beast | |
| bethel | house of God | |
| bris | covenant | |
| challah | leavened bread | |
| chazan | cantor | |
| cherub | angel | |
| cider | strong drink | |
| dybbuk | wandering soul | |
| edenic | delight | |
| ephah | 1/10 homer dry measure | |
| ganef | thief | |
| gerah | grain | |
| get | divorce document | |
| golem | shapeless mass | |
| goy | nation | |
| halacha | way | |
| halleluja, alleluia | praise YHWH | |
| heder | room | |
| homer | swell up | |
| Hosanna | save | |
| jubilee | ram’s horn | |
| judas | celebrated | |
| kashrut | be appropriate | |
| kibbutz | gathering | |
| kibosh | disregard | |
| kosher | be appropriate | |
| leviathan | sea monster | |
| macabre | hammer | |
| matzo | unleavened bread | |
| maven | one who is experienced | |
| mazeltov | good luck | |
| mazuma | fixed | |
| menorah | candlestick | |
| meshuga | crazy | |
| messiah | anointed one | |
| midrash | explanation | |
| mitzvah | commandment | |
| mohel | person who performs circumcisions | |
| pascal | passover | |
| pharaoh | Egyptian ruler | |
| pharisee | separate | |
| rabbi | master | |
| sabbatical | day of rest | |
| satan | adversary | |
| schmooze | rumor | |
| schwa | unstressed vowel | |
| seder | order | |
| selah | pause | |
| seraph | celestial being / angel | |
| shalom | peace | |
| shamus | sexton | |
| shegetz | blemish | |
| shekel | weigh | |
| shibboleth | stream | |
| shiksa | abomination / racist insult to non-Jewish women | |
| siddur | arrangement | |
| sukkah | booth | |
| teraph | household god | |
| Torah | law | |
| tush | beneath | |
| tzitzit | tassels | |
| yeshiva | talmudic school | |
| yid | celebrated | |
| zaddik | righteous |
Greek letter names of (presumed) Hebrew origin
It’s fair to say that many of the Greek letter names have become a part of English due to their wide usage in mathematics and so on.
Some of these Greek letters are presumed to share a common origin with Hebrew (and Phoenician) letter names.
See the following table for reference:
| English | Greek | Hebrew (presumed origin) |
|---|---|---|
| alpha | λφα | |
| beta | Βτα | |
| gamma | Γμμα | |
| delta | Δλτα | |
| eta | τα | |
| iota | Ιτα | |
| kappa | Κππα | |
| lambda | Λμβδα | |
| nu | Νυ | |
| pi | Πι | |
| rho | Ρω | |
| tau | Ταυ |
English names of Hebrew origin
Below you’ll find a list of names (and variations) of Hebrew origin that are common in English.
| English name | Hebrew origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Abelia / Abelian | emptiness | |
| Abigail | father of exhaltation | |
| Adam | earth | |
| Ammonite | of the tribe of Ammon | |
| Bedlam | Bethlehem | |
| Bejesus | Jesus / salvation | |
| Benday / Benjamin | son of the right hand | |
| Cassia | cinnamon | |
| Davit / David | beloved | |
| Haman / Hamantasch | vizier | |
| Jack / Jacket / Jacob | he has protected | |
| Jehu | YHWH is | |
| Jeremiad | the Lord will rise | |
| Jeroboam | people will contend | |
| Jesuit | salvation | |
| Jezebel | chaste | |
| Jimmy | he has protected | |
| Jockey | the Lord is gracious | |
| Joe / Joseph | he shall add | |
| John | the Lord is gracious | |
| Lazar / Lazaretto | God is my help | |
| Macadum / Macadamia | earth | |
| Mary / Marionette | Miryam | |
| Michael / Mick | mikha’el | |
| Nance / Nancy | Hannah / favored | |
| Nimrod | hunter | |
| Philistine / Palestinian | migratory | |
| Samaritan | watch station | |
| Semitic | name | |
| Sodom / Sodomite | burnt | |
| Toby | goodness of YHWH | |
| Yankee | the Lord is gracious |
You know more Hebrew than you realize
Just looking at the lists above, you can see that you actually know quite a bit of Hebrew already.
Add to this the fact that Modern Hebrew uses many loanwords from European languages (as well as numerals), and you quickly realize that Hebrew is not as exotic as you first thought.
Want to go further with your Hebrew study? Refer to our guide on the best online Hebrew courses.
Did I miss any important cognates?
Comment below.
Grab the link to this article
