gaon

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Pronunciations

gaon (gah-OHN) listen

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Definitions

  • n. The rabbis of Babylonian yeshivot between the 6th and 11th centuries C.E.

  • n. An honorary title for rabbis.

  • n. A genius.

Example Sentences

  • "Thus Elijah ben Solomon (1720–97) became known as gaon of Vilna or the Gaon." (source)

  • “The geonim judged religious questions. Questions were sent them from all parts of the Diaspora, and they provided the responsa." (NJY)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Modern Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH גאון > MH גאון gaon '(one who is) prideful', Y גאָון goen

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • 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

      ga-on, goen, go'on, ga'on, go'oyn, gooyn, goen

Notes

  • Plural geoynim.

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