אחד

Aramaic

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *ʾaḫað-.

Verb

אחד • (transliteration needed)

1. to hold, take, seize
2. to shut, close

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Hebrew

Hebrew cardinal numbers

	א	ב  > ‏
Cardinal : אחד (ekhád)     Ordinal : רִאשׁוֹן‏ (rishón)

Root
י־ח־ד‏

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *waḥad-.

Numeral

אֶחָד • (ekhád) (feminine counterpart אַחַת‏)

1. One: the number one; used as a numeral.
2. One: being exactly one; used as an adjective.
   • c. 7th Century BCE, Deuteronomy 6:4

     ‏שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה׳ אֱלֹקֵינוּ ה׳ אֶחָד׃‏‎

     shəmá' yisra'él YHWH eloqéinu YHWH eḥáð.

     Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
     Hear, O Israel: Hashem is our God, Hashem is the One and Only.

   • אֶחָד וְאֵין יָחִיד כְּיִחוּדוֹ, נֶעְלָם וְגַם אֵין סוֹף לְאַחְדוּתוֹ
3. One, a(n), this: used as an indefinite article or determiner.

   ‏יש לו בן אחד ושתי בנות.‏‎ ― yesh lo ben ekhád ush'téi banót. ― He has one son and two daughters.

   ‏ראית ילד אחד כאן?‏‎ ― ra'íta yéled ékhad kan? ― Have you seen a boy here?

4. One: used as a pronoun.

   ‏שמתי אחד במגירה.‏‎ ― sámti ékhad bam'girá. ― I put one in the drawer.

Usage notes

• Like adjectives, but unlike other cardinal numbers, אֶחָד‏ follows its noun.
• According to the Academy of the Hebrew language a feminine cardial number should be used when referring to an abstract number, e.g. in phone numbers, and also in every place where the word מִסְפָּר‏ (mispár, “number”) can be used before the number, e.g. אוטובוס (מספר) אחת‏ (otobús (mispár) akhát, “bus (number) one”).^[1]

See also

• חד‏ (khad-)

References

• “H259”, in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979
• Notes:

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Yiddish

Etymology

From Hebrew אֶחָד‏ (ekhád, “one”).

Noun

אחד • (ekhod) m

1. (Judaism) the Oneness of God