אנוש

Hebrew

Etymology

Root
א־נ־שׁ (ʾ-n-sh)

From Proto-Semitic *ʾināš-, from Proto-Afroasiatic *nVs-. Max Wagner thinks it is an old borrowing from Aramaic אֱינָשׁ (ʾěnāš) under Hebraization of the vocalism.

Noun

אֱנוֹשׁ • (enósh) m (no plural forms)

1. (poetic, mainly used in constructions) human, man, person, mortal

   מַשְׁאַבֵּי אֱנוֹשׁ ― mash'abé enósh ― human resources

   • p. 5th century B.C.E.
     Tanach, Job 7:17:

     (please add the primary text of this quotation)

     ESV

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

     
     

     מָֽה־אֱנֹושׁ כִּי תְגַדְּלֶנּוּ וְכִי־תָשִׁית אֵלָיו לִבֶּֽךָ׃

     What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him,

   • Tanach, Psalms 55:13:

     (please add the primary text of this quotation)

     NIV

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

     
     

     וְאַתָּה אֱנֹושׁ כְּעֶרְכִּי אַלּוּפִי וּמְיֻדָּֽעִי׃

     But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,

   • Tanach, Psalms 104:15:

     וְיַיִן יְשַׂמַּח לְֽבַב־אֱנֹושׁ […]

     v'yaín y'samákh leváv-enósh

     and wine will make a person's heart happy

   • a. 175 B.C.E. Sirach 37:25

     חיי אנוש ימים מספר.

     The days of human life are numbered.

   • a. 1138 Moses ibn Ezra, [אֱמֶת, תַּאְווֹת אֱנוֹשׁ מַיִם עֲמֻקִּים]

     אֱמֶת, תַּאְווֹת אֱנוֹשׁ מַיִם עֲמֻקִּים / וְחֶפְצָם מִן יְדֵי עַיִשׁ תְּלוּיוֹת –

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 1930, Hayim Nahman Bialik, אגדת שלושה וארבעה (נוסח ב):

     מעולם לא דרכה רגל אנוש עפר האי וצי שיט לא קרב אל גבולו, […]

     Never has a human foot steped on the dirt of the island and no navy sailed near to its border, […]

Usage notes

• The word is generally used collectively, that is for the whole human race.

Derived terms

• אֱנוֹשִׁי (enoshí)
• אֱנוֹשׁוּת (enoshút)
• בֶּן אֱנוֹשׁ (ben enósh)
• מַשְׁאַבֵּי אֱנוֹשׁ (mash'abé enósh)
• יַחֲסֵי אֱנוֹשׁ (yakhasé enósh)

Proper noun

אֱנוֹשׁ • (enósh) m

1. Enos/Enosh (grandson of Adam)
2. a male given name: Enosh

Adjective

אָנוּשׁ • (anúsh) (feminine אֲנוּשָׁה, masculine plural אֲנוּשִׁים, feminine plural אֲנוּשׁוֹת)

1. mortal, fatal
2. badly sick, close to death

Anagrams

• נושא, נשוא, שנוא

References

• Wagner, Max (1966) Die lexikalischen und grammatikalischen Aramaismen im alttestamentlichen Hebräisch (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft; 96) (in German), Berlin: Alfred Töpelmann, →ISBN, pages 26–27