chacham
Pronunciations
Definitions
n. Rabbi (Sephardi).
n. Wise, learned person; genius.
n. Wiseguy.
Example Sentences
"Chacham (Sephardic equivalent of “Rabbi”) Yosef Chaim, known as the “Ben Ish Chai,” became the Rav of Baghdad at the age of twenty-five, in the year 5619 (1859), the year following the death of his father, Chacham Rav Eliyahu." (source)
"Every chacham deserves kavod." "That guy is quite a chacham, getting all those credit cards with no credit history" (Weiser)
"Chacham! Where did you learn how to weld?!"
"So you thought you could fix it then, did you, chochem?" (Glinert)
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Languages of Origin
- Textual Hebrew
- Yiddish
- Ladino
Etymology
Heb חכם khakhám, Yiddish חכם khókhem 'wise man; ironic: a fool', Ladino חכם hacham 'teacher, rabbinic leader'
- Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
- Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage
- Sephardim: Jews with Sephardi or Mizrahi heritage
- North America
- Great Britain
- South Africa
- Australia / New Zealand
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- The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
- Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).
- Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
Who Uses This
Regions
Dictionaries
Alternative Spellings
khokhem, chocham, chochem, hacham, haham, chuchum, chochem
Notes
plural chachomim (חכמים)
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