The names used to denote the Hebrew language, past and present, can be divided into two main groups: those derived from the Hebrew root עב״ר ʿ-b-r, i.e., ‘Hebrew’ = עברי ʿiḇri, and those which express the sacred, scriptural status of Hebrew as the ancestral ‘Holy Tongue’ = לשון קודש ləšon haq-qodeš.