אדם

Aramaic

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʔɑdɑm/

Proper noun

אדם • (adám)

  1. (biblical) Adam.
  2. a male given name

Descendants

  • Classical Syriac: ܐܳܕܳܡ, ܐܖܡ
    • → Malayalam: ആദാം (ādāṁ), ആദം (ādaṁ)

Hebrew

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Root
א־ד־ם (ʾ-d-m)

Comparable to Phoenician 𐤀𐤃𐤌 (ʾdm, “man, earthling”), Ugaritic 𐎀𐎄𐎎 (ảdm, “man; red earth, red ochre”), Old South Arabian 𐩱𐩵𐩣 (ʾdm, “vassals, subjects”), Ge'ez ዶም (dom, “slave”), Akkadian 𒀀𒁕𒄠𒈬 (a-da-am-mu /⁠adamu⁠/, “blood”), Akkadian 𒀀𒁕𒈠𒌈 (a-da-ma-tum /⁠adamātu⁠/, “dark red earth or dye”), Akkadian 𒀀𒁕𒈬 (a-da-mu /⁠adamu⁠/, “a red garment”), Akkadian 𒀀𒁕𒈬 (a-da-mu /⁠adamu⁠/, “an important or noble person”). The meaning range points to these words being extensions from Proto-Semitic *dam- (“blood”), compare the Palestinian Aramaic forms of it אדם / אידם / ܐܕܡ (ʾəḏem, “blood”). The meaning development could be any of the following:

  1. “blood” → “red earth”, “red ochre” → “earthling”;
  2. “blood” → “man”, as blood is a main ingredient of humans;
  3. “blood” → “red earth”, “red ochre” → “the dye to paint idols” → hence “an idol” → “an effigy, a likeness” → “a man”;
  4. “blood” → “blood sacrifice to appease an idol” → hence “an idol” → “an effigy, a likeness” → “a man”;
  5. “blood” → “red” → “to show red blood in the face, e.g. to blush” → “a human”.

Compare Arabic دُمْيَة (dumya, “statue, idol; effigy, likeness; doll, puppet”), دَمَّ (damma, “to bedaub”).

Noun

אָדָם • (adám) m [pattern: קָטָל]

  1. man, human
    אָדָם לְאָדָם זְאֵב ― adám l'adám z'év ― Man is a wolf to man. (cf. homō hominī lupus)
Usage notes

For plural, בני אדם or אנשים can be used.

Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants

Proper noun

אָדָם • (adám) m

  1. a male given name, equivalent to English Adam
Derived terms

References

Etymology 2

Root
א־ד־ם (ʾ-d-m)

Adjective

אָדֹם • (adóm) (feminine אֲדֻמָּה, masculine plural אֲדֻמִּים, feminine plural אֲדֻמּוֹת)

  1. defective spelling of אדום ('adóm, “red”).

Noun

אֹדֶם • (ódem) m

  1. defective spelling of אודם (ódem, “redness”).

Anagrams

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