ארון

Hebrew

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *ʾarān- or *ʾirān-. Cognate to Phoenician 𐤀𐤓𐤍 (ʾrn).

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /aˈʁon/

• (file)

Noun

אָרוֹן • (arón) m (plural indefinite אֲרוֹנוֹת, singular construct אֲרוֹן־)

1. A cupboard, closet, cabinet, or similar piece of furniture.

   איפה ארון הספרים? ― éifo arón ha-s'farím? ― Where is the bookcase?

2. A coffin or casket.
   • Tanach, Genesis 50:26, with translation of the King James Version:

     וַיָּמָת יוֹסֵף בֶּן־מֵאָה וָעֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים וַיַּחַנְטוּ אֹתוֹ וַיִּישֶׂם בָּאָרוֹן בְּמִצְרָיִם׃

     vayamot yosef ben-me’a va'eser shanim vayakhantu oto vayisem baaron b'mitzrayim.

     So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

3. (military slang) One of the bars on the shoulders of Israeli military uniforms to indicate junior officer ranks (with more bars indicating a higher rank).

   המפקדת שלי קצינה עם שני ארונות, היא סגן.

   ha-m’fakédet sheli k’tziná ‘im shnéi aronót, hi ségen.

   My commander is an officer who has two ‘closets’, she’s a lieutenant.

4. (slang, in definite forms) The metaphorical closet in which persons who are secretly LGBT are imagined to reside (as in English).

Usage notes

• This noun is sometimes vocalized as אָרוֹן, sometimes as אֲרוֹן. In either case, its pronunciation is the same in Modern Israeli Hebrew.

Derived terms

• אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית (aron habrit, “Ark of the Covenant”)
• אֲרוֹן סְפָרים (aron sfarim)
• ארון קודש / אֲרוֹן קֹדֶשׁ ('arón kódesh)
• חֲדַר אֲרוֹנוֹת (khadár aronót)
• יָצָא מֵהָאָרוֹן (yatsá meha'arón)

Anagrams

• נורא

Ladino

Etymology

From Hebrew ארון (arón).

Noun

ארון m (Hebrew spelling, Latin spelling arón, plural ארונות)

1. grave

Yiddish

Noun

ארון • (orn) m

1. (nonstandard) Unpointed form of אָרון (orn).