Adamah
/əˈdɑːmə/noun
A Hebrew word meaning ground, soil, or earth, especially as used in the Hebrew Bible.
Did you know?In Genesis, the names Adam and adamah are connected through Hebrew wordplay, presenting the human as formed from—and linguistically bound to—the ground.
Etymological Timeline
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
אֲדָמָה (adamah)
“Ground, soil, or cultivated earth”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
אָדָם (adam)
“Human being or humankind; also the personal name Adam”
Ancient Hebrew Bible
Hebrew
הָאָדָם מִן־הָאֲדָמָה
“The human from the ground, an association expressed in Genesis”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Ἀδάμ (Adam)
“Adam, transmitted as a personal name from Hebrew”
Late Latin
Latin
Adam
“Adam, the biblical first human”
Modern English
English
adamah
“A Hebrew loanword used in biblical, theological, and scholarly writing for earth or soil”