I found an old note of mine that said I should write about the word achsania - the Hebrew word for "hostel." Since the note was w...

Here's a connection between two words that you might not have known. I don't have too much to add, but I found it really interesting...

The Hebrew word geves גבס and the English word gypsum are closely related. Let's see how. In Hebrew today, you'll most likely hea...

Why is the Hebrew word for "president" נשיא nasi ? I'm not entirely sure, but I'll share my ideas with you. Let's star...

The Hebrew word for "prophet" - נביא navi has a surprising number of suggested etymologies. Let's take a look at some of them...

Last week we discussed how  mistorin מסתורין is a Talmudic era "blend" of a Hebrew root and a Greek word. A more recent blend is...

The words seter סתר -"hideaway; secret" and setira   סתירה - "contradiction", seem to have the same root - סתר. However...

A reader wrote and asked how did keren קרן come to mean both "horn, ray" and "fund"? Both Even-Shoshan and Klein say ...

In the Bible, we find the word ketev קטב meaning "destruction, plague". It appears in this form in Devarim 32:24, Tehilim 91:6, a...

What is the origin of the Hebrew slang word chupar צ'ופר meaning "bonus" or "perk"? Ruvik Rosenthal in his Hebrew s...

The Hebrew word for waiter is meltzar   מלצר  (feminine meltzarit מלצרית). But Klein has the following definition and etymology: guardian...

Is there any connection between the Hebrew words nachash נחש - "snake", nichush ניחוש - "guess" and nechoshet נחושת -...

What is the origin of the rabbinic word for "inn" - פונדק pundak ? Klein provides the following etymology: From Greek pandaki...

There are three words in Hebrew for wall - kir קיר, choma חומה, and kotel כותל. What is the difference between them? All three are bibl...

Until recently, I would have assumed the words masorah מסורה / masoret מסורת - "tradition" and musar מוסר - "ethics" ...

A reader asked me if there was any connection between two meanings of the root גור - "to dwell" and "to fear". As you mi...

There are four different biblical words that all can mean "nation". Since they originate at the same time period, it will be diffi...

Is there a connection between the word zera זרע - "seed" and the skin affliction tzaraat צרעת - (frequently, although perhaps i...

Last week we discussed the root דמם , meaning "to be silent". Today we'll take a look at a synonym - the root חרש, which can a...

Is there any connection between the Hebrew homographs domeh - "similar" and dumah - "silence", both spelled דומה? Le...