English words from Hebrew
English borrowed from Hebrew mostly through Bible translations, which is why several of these words carry a religious backstory.
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- Armageddon
The Book of Revelation names the site of the final battle between good and evil as a place called Har Megiddo, Hebrew for the hill of Megiddo, an ancient city in northern Israel that had already witnessed dozens of real battles by the time Revelation was…
From the Sun, Sep 20, 2026 roundup → - Lord of the Flies
William Golding's title is a literal English translation of Beelzebub — from Hebrew Ba'al Zevuv, "lord of the flies," a name for a Philistine deity that Israelite scripture repurposed as a mocking insult, and which later Christian tradition folded into a name…
From the Fri, Aug 7, 2026 roundup → - Uzi
Israel's military adopted this compact submachine gun in 1951 and named it for the young army officer who designed it — even though, according to accounts from those who knew him, Uziel Gal actually asked for the weapon not to carry his name. His request was…
From the Tue, Sep 1, 2026 roundup →