Etymology of Modern Hebrew: Hebrew Roots and History

Thursday, May 1, 2025
11:00am - 12:00pm PT

Join Elon Gilad and Hebrew at AJU for a special Yom Haatzmaut (Israeli Independance Day) program exploring the roots of modern Hebrew! Gilad will take you on an exploration of Hebrew etymology, tracing the fascinating evolution of the Hebrew language from its ancient Semitic roots to contemporary Israeli slang. Through carefully chosen examples, we’ll uncover the hidden stories behind everyday Hebrew words and discover how they reflect the rich cultural and historical journey of the Jewish people.

What You’ll Learn: We’ll explore the roots of Hebrew words, starting with מגל (sickle) as a gateway to Proto-Semitic and its sister languages. Delving into biblical Hebrew, we’ll uncover hidden meanings in words like חסידה (stork). The journey continues through Hebrew’s literary transformation, from medieval innovations like טבע (nature) to Enlightenment-era repurposing of words like תוכי. Finally, we’ll examine modern Hebrew’s revival, from Ben-Yehuda’s neologisms like בובה (doll) to borrowed words like ג’ינג’י (redhead) from English and באסה (bummer) from Arabic. Thank you to Janine Winkler Lowy, Lisa Lainer-Fagan & Brian Fagan, Arna & David Pillemer, and Angel Schneider for generously sponsoring this class!

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Can't make it live? Register anyway! All participants will receive the recording to free webinars. But join us in real time to engage with the speaker, ask questions, and be part of the conversation!

Elon Gilad is a writer, historian, and the author of The Secret History of Judaism. Since 2013, he has written the weekly etymology column “From the Language Inward” in Haaretz’s weekend section and is pursuing a master’s degree in Hebrew Language at Tel Aviv University. He also brings his passion for the history of Hebrew to diverse audiences through engaging social media videos, combining scholarly depth with accessible storytelling. Subscribe to his YouTube channel here.