ben adam

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Pronunciations

ben adam (ben ah-DAHM) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A human being.

Example Sentences

  • "The man who helped was una ben adam."

  • "This is a beautiful, uplifting book about a real ben adom, a mensch, who saw evil and, instead of averting his eyes, did what he could to help the victims." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Ladino

Etymology

  • TH בן אדם, lit. 'son of Adam, son of man' > L ben adam

      • Who Uses This

      • Ottoman Sephardim: Jews with ancestry in Spain and, post-expulsion, in Turkey, Greece, and other parts of the Ottoman Empire

      Regions

      • North America
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • None

      Alternative Spellings

      ben adom, ben odam, benadam

Notes

  • Cf. Yiddish-derived "mensch"

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