In Rabbinic Hebrew the most common gentilic is the suffix - ִי -i, with no consonantal element, as in גְּלִילִי gelili ‘Galilean’ (from גָּלִיל Galil ‘Galilee’), יְוָנִי yewani ‘Greek’ (from יון Yawan ‘Greece’), כּוּתִי kuti ‘Samaritan’ (from כותה Kuta), בַּבְלִי baḇli ‘Babylonian’ (from בבל baḇel ‘Babylon’), ר׳ שמעון שזורי ribbi šimʿon šezuri ‘R. Simon of Šezur’; feminine forms: גְּלִילִית gelilit ‘Galilean’, יְוָנִית yewanit ‘Greek’, אֵילָתִית ʾelatit ‘from Eilat’, and with the ending - ִיָּה -iyya: אמה העִבְרִיָּה ʾama ha-ʿiḇriyya ‘Hebrew she-slave’; plural forms: כּוּתִים kutim ‘Sama…
Gentilic: Rabbinic Hebrew(662 words)
Cite this page
Hilman, Yitzhak, “Gentilic: Rabbinic Hebrew”, in: Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, Edited by: Geoffrey Khan. Consulted online on 09 December 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2212-4241_ehll_EHLL_COM_00000377>
First published online: 2013
First print edition: 9789004176423
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