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זקן. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
זקן, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
זקן in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
זקן you have here. The definition of the word
זקן will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
זקן, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Aramaic
Verb
זְקַן • (zəqan)
- (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic) to age
Hebrew
Etymology
From Proto-Semitic *ḏaḳan- (“beard”). Cognate with Akkadian 𒅾 (ziqnum) and Arabic ذَقَن (ḏaqan).
Noun
זָקָן • (zakán) m (plural indefinite זְקָנִים, singular construct זְקַן־, plural construct זִקְנֵי־)
- beard
Tanach, Leviticus 19:27, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:לֹא תַקִּפוּ פְּאַת רֹאשְׁכֶם וְלֹא תַשְׁחִית אֵת פְּאַת זְקָנֶךָ׃- Lo taqfú pə'at roshkhém, v-ló tashḥít et pə'at zəqanékha
- Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
Related terms
See also
Adjective
זָקֵן • (zakén) (feminine זְקֵנָה, masculine plural זְקֵנִים, feminine plural זְקֵנוֹת)
- old, elderly, aged
Usage notes
- This adjective refers only to human beings, animals, and plants. For inanimate objects, the adjective ישן (yashán, “old, longstanding”) is used.
- This adjective means “old” specifically in the sense of “elderly”; English old as in (for example) “old enough to drive a car” or “he's older than she is” would usually be translated to Hebrew with the adjective מבוגר (m'vugár, “old, adult”), and English old as in (for example) “forty years old” would usually be translated to Hebrew with either the masculine noun בן (ben, “old, son”) or the feminine noun בת (bat, “old, daughter”).
Noun
זָקֵן • (zakén) m (plural indefinite זְקֵנִים, singular construct זְקַן־, plural construct זִקְנֵי־, feminine counterpart זְקֵנָה)
- old person
- elder, sage
1170 CE, Maimonides, Mishneh Torah:אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁלֹּא נִכְתְּבָה תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה, לִמְּדָהּ מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ כֻּלָּהּ בְּבֵית דִּינוֹ לְשִׁבְעִים זְקֵנִים; וְאֶלְעָזָר וּפִינְחָס וִיהוֹשׁוּעַ, שְׁלָשְׁתָּן קִבְּלוּ מִמֹּשֶׁה.- ʾaf ʿal pi shelo niḫteva tora shebeʿal fe, limeḏa moshe rabenu kula bebeyṯ dino leshivʿim zeqenim; veʾelʿazar ufinḥam vihoshuʿa shelashtan qibelu mimoshe
- Although the Oral Torah was not written down, Moses taught all of it in his tribunal to seventy elders; and Eliezer and Phinehas and Joshua all received it from Moses.
- (Talmudic) grandfather
Verb
זָקַן • (zakán) third-singular masculine past (pa'al construction)
- (flowery) to grow old, to grow elderly, to age
Conjugation
Synonyms
Anagrams
Yiddish
Etymology
From Hebrew זָקֵן (zakén).
Pronunciation
Noun
זקן • (zokn) m, plural זקנים (zkeynem), feminine זקנה (zkeyne), feminine plural זקנות (zkeynes)
- old person
- (chess) knight
Synonyms