חרם

Hebrew

Root
ח־ר־ם (kh-r-m)

Etymology

Compare with Arabic ح ر م (ḥ r m)

Noun

חֵרֶם • (ḥērem) m

1. excommunication (act of excommunicating or ejecting), anathema, taboo, dedication, consecration
   • Book of Joshua 6, 17:

     והיתה העיר חרם היא וכל־אשר־בה ליהוה רק רחב הזונה תחיה היא וכל־אשר אתה בבית כי החבאתה את־המלאכים אשר שלחנו

     The city and all in it shall be destroyed as a dedication to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in the house shall live, for she hid the scouts we had sent.

Descendants

• → Yiddish: חרם (kheyrem)

References

• H2764 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible

Anagrams

• מחר
• רחם

Yiddish

Etymology

From Hebrew חֵרֶם (khérem).

Noun

חרם • (kheyrem) m, plural חרמות (kharomes)

1. excommunication, expulsion from the Jewish community

Derived terms

• בחרם (bekheyrem)

References

• Steven A. Jacobson (1998) “בחרם”, in A Guide to the More Common Hebraic Words in Yiddish, 5th edition, Fairbanks, AK: National Yiddish Book Center, →ISBN, page 31