amen

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See also: Amen, ámen, amén, àmen, âmen, āmén, åmen, and αμήν

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old English, from Ecclesiastical Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן‎ (ʾāmēn, “certainly, truly”) (cognate with Arabic آمِين‎ (ʾāmīn), Classical Syriac ܐܡܝܢ‎ (ʾāmên)). In Old English, it was used only at the end of the Gospels. Elsewhere, it was translated as sōþlīċe! (“truly”, “indeed!”), swā hit is (“so it is”), and sīe! (“[so] be it!”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /eɪˈmɛn/, /ɑːˈmɛn/, /ˈeɪ.mɛn/
    • Until c. 1920 the pronunciation /eɪˈmɛn/ was universal. Thereafter, with the "reformed" pronunciation of ancient languages, /ɑːˈmɛn/ gradually prevailed, though (particularly in spoken prayer) /eɪˈmɛn/ can still be heard, especially in the US.
    • Audio (UK)
      		(file)
    • Audio (UK)
      		(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛn

Adverb[edit]

amen (not comparable)

  1. At the end of religious prayers: so be it.
    • 1662, Book of Common Prayer:
      Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
    • KJV, Nehemiah 5:13:
      Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the Lord. And the people did according to this promise. — Nehemiah 5:13, KJV
    • KJV, Psalm 72:18-19:
      Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
  2. In many Abrahamic religious texts and creeds: truly, verily.
    • (Can we date this quote?) Bible in Rhemish translation, John 3:5:
      Amen, amen, I say to thee, except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God.

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Interjection[edit]

amen

  1. An expression of strong agreement. Often, though dated, in the phrase "Amen to that".
    • 1999 May, Matt Groening, “Hell Is Other Robots”, Futurama, season 1, episode 9
      Fry: Bender's stupid religion is driving me nuts! / Leela: Amen!

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

amen (plural amens)

  1. An instance of saying ‘amen’.
    • 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney: Ure Smith, published 1965, page 12:
      [H]is `Amens' were ejected at the pulpit with the severity of a reprimand.
    • 2006, Evault Boswell, The Iron Mountain Baby:
      A chorus of amens rang out across the audience.
  2. A title of Christ; the Faithful One (especially with reference to Revelation 3:14)
    • 1611, — Revelation 3:14, KJV
      And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb[edit]

amen (third-person singular simple present amens, present participle amening, simple past and past participle amened)

  1. (intransitive) To say amen.
    • 1942, Emily Carr, The Book of Small, "Sunday," [1]
      The moment Dr. Reid amened, we rushed straight out of the church off home.
    • 2015, T. M. Young, Much Given, Much Required (page xxx)
      Most of the church amened and applauded.
    • 2015, Jewelle Francis, Manifest Destiny:
      She must be thinking Reverend Hopkins is talking directly to her, because she starts amening and shouting real loud when he gets to the part in Proverbs […]
  2. (transitive) To say amen to; to ratify solemnly.

Translations[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Catalan[edit]

Verb[edit]

amen

  1. third-person plural present indicative form of amar

Cebuano[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Spanish amén, from Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Hebrew אמן‎ (amén, “certainly, truly”).

The gesture evolved from the custom of kissing the ecclesiastical ring of Catholic clergymen.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Hyphenation: a‧men

Adverb[edit]

amen

  1. at the end of religious prayers: so be it

Interjection[edit]

amen

  1. an expression of strong agreement

Verb[edit]

amen

  1. to touch one's forehead to the back of an older person's hand as a gesture of respect
  2. to hold out one's hand to someone, often a younger person, in order for them to touch it to their foreheads

Quotations[edit]

For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:amen.

Chuukese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English amen.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /aˈmɛn/, /aˈbɛn/

Interjection[edit]

amen

  1. amen

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Dutch amen, from Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אמן‎ (amén, “certainly, truly”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

amen

  1. amen; at the end of Judeo-Christian prayers: so be it
  2. amen; an expression of strong agreement

Noun[edit]

amen n (plural amens, diminutive amentje n)

  1. An instance of saying ‘amen’.

Derived terms[edit]

Esperanto[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

amen

  1. amen

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Ecclesiastical Latin amen, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן‎ (ʾāmēn, “certainly, truly”)

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

amen

  1. amen

Noun[edit]

amen m (plural amens)

  1. amen

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Galician[edit]

Verb[edit]

amen

  1. third-person plural present subjunctive of amar

Gothic[edit]

Romanization[edit]

amēn

  1. Romanization of 𐌰𐌼𐌴𐌽

Icelandic[edit]

Adverb[edit]

amen

  1. at the end of prayers: so be it
    Í guðanna bænum, amen.
    For God's sake, amen.
  2. at the end of a creeds or in Biblical translations: truly, verily

Interjection[edit]

amen

  1. expressing strong agreement

Anagrams[edit]

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן‎ (ʾāmēn, “certainly, truly”) (cognate with Arabic آمِين‎ (ʾāmīn), Classical Syriac ܐܡܝܢ‎ (ʾāmên)).

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

amen

  1. amen; so be it
  2. (colloquial) that's it; end of the story
    L'esame è andato male, pace e amen, fattene una ragione.
    The exam went bad, that's it, come to terms with it.

Interjection[edit]

amen

  1. amen!

Usage notes[edit]

  • Sense 2, similar to pace and va beh, is colloquial, and typically seen in the phrase pace e amen, as in the example.

Latin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן‎ (ʾāmēn, “certainly, truly”) (cognate with Arabic آمِين‎ (ʾāmīn), Classical Syriac ܐܡܝܢ‎ (ʾāmên)).

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

āmēn (not comparable)

  1. amen; so be it; truly

Interjection[edit]

āmēn

  1. amen!

References[edit]

Middle Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin āmēn.

Interjection[edit]

āmen

  1. amen, so be it

Descendants[edit]

  • Dutch: amen
  • Limburgish: ame

Further reading[edit]

Polish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

amen

  1. amen

Further reading[edit]

  • amen in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese[edit]

Interjection[edit]

amen

  1. Obsolete spelling of amém

Spanish[edit]

Verb[edit]

amen

  1. Second-person plural (ustedes) imperative form of amar.
  2. Second-person plural (ustedes) present subjunctive form of amar.
  3. Third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes?) present subjunctive form of amar.
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