List of 105 Words That Came From Israel
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Need to find English words that came from Israel? Here's a useful list of such terms. Here you'll find a range of words that entered English from your chosen point of origin.
| Word | Origin |
| agora (currency) | From Hebrew ăgōrāh, meaning "payment" or "coin." |
| aliyah | From Modern Hebrew ʽalīyāh. |
| almemar | From Hebrew almēmār. |
| alpha | From Hebrew āleph, via Greek álpha. |
| amen | From Hebrew āmēn. |
| baal | From Hebrew baʽal. |
| babel | From Hebrew Bābhel. |
| bar mitzvah | From Hebrew bar miṣwāh, meaning "son of the commandment." |
| bat mitzvah | From Hebrew bath mişwāh, meaning "daughter of the commandment." |
| behemoth | From Hebrew bĕhēmōth. |
| berith milah | From Hebrew bĕrīth mīlāh. |
| beta | From Hebrew bēth, via Greek bêta. |
| bethel | From Hebrew bēth'ēl, meaning "house of God." |
| bris | From Hebrew bĕrīth. |
| cabal | From Late Hebrew qabbālāh. |
| cassia | From Greek kassia, of Semitic origin. |
| challah | From Hebrew ḥallāh. |
| cherub | From Hebrew kĕrūbh, via Greek cheroub. |
| chutzpah | From Late Hebrew ḥuṣpāh. |
| cider | From Hebrew shēkhār. |
| cor | From Hebrew kōr, via Late Latin corus. |
| corban | From Hebrew qorbān, meaning "offering." |
| davit | Probably from the name David. |
| delta | From Greek delta, of Semitic origin. |
| dybbuk | From Late Hebrew dibbūq. |
| ephah | From Hebrew ēphāh, which came from Egyptian 'pt. |
| ganef | Can be traced back to Hebrew gannābh. |
| gerah | From Hebrew gērāh. |
| golem | From Hebrew gōlem, meaning "shapeless mass." |
| habdalah | From Hebrew haḇdālāh, meaning "separation." |
| haftarah | From Hebrew haphṭārāh. |
| halacha | From Hebrew halākhāh. |
| hallelujah | From Hebrew hallĕlūyāh, meaning "praise the LORD." |
| halutz | From New Hebrew ḥālūṣ. |
| hazan | From Late Hebrew ḥazzān. |
| heder | From Hebrew ḥedher, meaning "room." |
| hosanna | From Hebrew hōshīʽāh-nnā. |
| iota | From Greek iōta, of Semitic origin. |
| jezebel | From Hebrew Izebhel. |
| jubilee | From Hebrew yōbhēl. |
| kabbalah | From Hebrew qabbālāh. |
| kappa | From Greek kappa, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew kaph. |
| kashrut | From Hebrew kashrūth. |
| kibbutz | From Modern Hebrew qibbūṣ. |
| kiddush | From Late Hebrew qiddūsh, meaning "sanctification." |
| klezmer | From Hebrew kĕlēy zemer, meaning "musical instruments." |
| kosher | From Hebrew kāshēr, meaning "appropriate." |
| lambda | From Greek, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew lāmedh. |
| lehayim | From Hebrew l'ḥaim, meaning "to life." |
| leviathan | From Hebrew liwyāthān. |
| maftir | From Hebrew maphṭīr. |
| mahzor | From Hebrew maḥăzōr. |
| manna | From Hebrew mān. |
| matzo | From Hebrew maṣṣāh, via Yiddish matse. |
| maven | From Late Hebrew mēbhīn, via Yiddish meyvn. |
| mazel tov | From Late Hebrew mazzāl tōbh, meaning "good luck." |
| mazuma | From Hebrew mĕzummān. |
| megillah | From Hebrew mĕgillāh, meaning "scroll." |
| menorah | From Hebrew mĕnōrāh. |
| meshuga | From Hebrew mĕshuggā. |
| messiah | From Hebrew māshīaḥ or Aramaic mĕshīḥā. |
| mezuzah | From Hebrew mĕzūzāh, meaning "doorpost." |
| midrash | From Hebrew midhrāsh, meaning "exposition." |
| mikvah | From Hebrew miqwāh, meaning "purification bath." |
| minyan | From Hebrew minyān, meaning "number" or "count." |
| mishpachah | From Hebrew mishpāḥāh, meaning "family" or "clan." |
| mitzvah | From Hebrew miṣwāh, meaning "commandment." |
| mohel | From Hebrew mōhēl. |
| moshav | From Modern Hebrew mōshābh. |
| nabla | From Greek, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew nēbhel. |
| nu | From Greek ny, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew nūn. |
| omer | From Hebrew ʽōmer. |
| parashah | From Hebrew pārāshāh, meaning "explanation." |
| pi | From Greek pei, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew pē. |
| rabbi | From Hebrew rabbī. |
| rho | From Greek rhō, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew rēsh. |
| sabra | From Modern Hebrew ṣabhār. |
| schmooze | From Hebrew shĕmu'ōth, meaning "news" or "rumor." |
| schwa | From Hebrew schĕwā'. |
| seder | From Hebrew sēdher, meaning "order." |
| selah | From Hebrew selāh. |
| seraph | From Hebrew śĕrāphīm. |
| shadchan | From Middle Hebrew shadhkhān or Late Hebrew shiddēkh, meaning "arrange a marriage." |
| shalom | From Hebrew shālōm, meaning "peace." |
| shammes | From Late Hebrew shāmmāsh. |
| shegetz | From Hebrew sheqeṣ, meaning "blemish" or "abomination." |
| shekel | From Hebrew sheqel. |
| Sheol | From Hebrew Shĕ'ōl. |
| shibboleth | From Hebrew shibbōleth, meaning "stream." |
| shiksa | From Hebrew sheqeṣ, meaning "blemish" or "abomination." |
| shiva | From Hebrew shibhʽāh, meaning "seven." |
| shofar | From Hebrew shōphār. |
| siddur | From Late Hebrew siddūr. |
| sukkah | From Hebrew sukkāh. |
| sycamine | Can be traced back to Hebrew šiqmāh. |
| tallith | From Hebrew ṭallīth, meaning "cover." |
| Talmud | From Hebrew talmūdh, meaning "instruction." |
| tau | From Greek, of Semitic origin, related to Hebrew tāw. |
| teraph | From Hebrew tĕrāphīm. |
| Torah | From Hebrew tōrāh. |
| tref | From Hebrew ṭĕrēphāh. |
| tsuris | From Hebrew ṣārāh, via Yiddish tsures. |
| tzitzit | From Hebrew ṣīṣīth. |
| yeshiva | From Late Hebrew yĕshībhāh. |
| zaddik | From Hebrew ṣaddīq. |
