gemara

Pronunciations

gemara	(geh-mah-RAH)
gemara	(geh-MUH-ruh)

Definitions

• n. "A compilation of 300 years of rabbis' legal and ethical commentaries on the Mishnah...together, the Gemara and the Mishnah comprise the Talmud." (JPS)
  

Example Sentences

• "Traditionally, Jewish boys begin studying gemara at age 10."
  

Languages of Origin

• Textual Hebrew
• Aramaic
• Yiddish

Etymology

• Heb גמרא gemará, Yiddish גמרא g(e)móre
  

Who Uses This

• Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

Regions

• North America

Dictionaries

• The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
• The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
• The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
• Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
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Alternative Spellings

gemorah, gemarah