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 *ʾaḥad-.

Numeral

אֶחָד • ('ekhád) m (feminine אַחַת‎)

1. (cardinal) one

   ‏יֵשׁ לוֹ בֵּן אֶחָד וּשְׁתֵּי בָּנוֹת.‎‎ ― yésh ló bén 'ekhád ush'téi banót. ― He has one son and two daughters.

   ‏רָאִיתָ יַלְדָּה אַחַת כָּאן?‎‎ ― ra'íta yaldá 'akhát kán? ― Have you seen a girl here?

   • Deuteronomy 6:4, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     ‏שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד׃‎‎

     sh'má' yisra'él YHVH 'elohéinu YHVH 'ekhád.
     šəmaʿ yiśrāʾēl YHWH ʾĕlōhḗnū YHWH ʾeḥāḏ.

     Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.

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]

Coordinate terms

• Last: אֶפֶס‎ ('éfes)
• Next: שניים \ שְׁנַיִם‎ (sh'náyim)

Related terms

• אֲחָדִים‎ ('akhadím)
• חַד‎ (khád)

Derived terms

• עַל רֶגֶל אַחַת‎ ('al régel 'akhát)

Pronoun

אֶחָד • ('ekhád) m (construct אַחַד־, feminine אַחַת‎)

1. one, one of

   ‏אֶחָד מֵהֶם‎‎ ― 'ekhád mehém ― one of them

   ‏אַחַד הַסְּפָרִים‎‎ ― 'akhád has'farím ― one of the books

   • 2011, Yacov Shir Golian, החושך בקצה המנהרה, page 80:

     ‏אחת החיילות שהייתה יפת מראה באופן בולט במיוחד ביקשה ממני סיגריה. נתתי לה אחת וישבתי על ספסל סמוך לחלון.‎‎

     One of the (female) soldiers who was very attractive in an especially conspicuous manner asked me for a cigarette. I gave her one and sat down on a bench next to the window.

Derived terms

• אַף אֶחָד‎ ('áf 'ekhád)

References

• H259 in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979

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Yiddish

Etymology

From Hebrew אֶחָד‎ (ekhád, “one”).

Noun

אחד • (ekhod) m

1. (Judaism) the Oneness of God