ok so i am not in bed yet. thinking about ba'al-z'vuv led me to wondering about other words in english that have their origins in hebrew. best i can do in the middle of the night is a wiki page here. some samples:
Amen - from אמן (="so be it; truly")
Armageddon - from הר מגידו "har megido" (="megido mountain"), the biblical location of an apocalyptic battle
Behemoth - from בהמות behemot (="beasts" or "cattle")
Cane - from קָנֶה "qāneh" (="reed")
Carob - from חרוב "charuv"
Cherub, cherubim - from כרוב kerubh, כרובים kerubim
Hallelujah - from הללויה halleluyah (="(let us) praise God")
Jubilee - from יובל yovel (Jubilee year)
Leviathan - from לויתן livyatan (="whale, sea monster")
Satan - from שטן satan (="adversary")
Cinnamon - akin to קינמון kinamon
Camel - akin to גמל gamal
not too many everyday words there but still interesting to me. you may also wish to browse the wiki page of yiddish words in american english. it should be here.
Caracal. Ebony. Manna. Ummm....
ReplyDelete