Chodesh
/ˈxoʊ.dɛʃ/noun
A Hebrew term meaning a month, especially in Jewish calendrical or liturgical usage.
Did you know?In Biblical Hebrew, chōdesh means both “month” and “new moon,” reflecting a calendar governed by the Moon’s renewal rather than a purely solar cycle.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*ḥadaš-
“New or renewed; associated with the appearance of the new moon”
2nd Millennium BCE
Akkadian
ḫadšu
“New or fresh; a cognate within the wider Semitic family”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
חֹדֶשׁ (ḥōdeš)
“New moon or month, a lunar period marked by renewal”
Rabbinic Hebrew
Hebrew
חודש (ḥōdeš)
“Month; the beginning of the month was linked to the lunar renewal”
Modern Hebrew
Hebrew
חודש (ḥódesh)
“Month”
Modern English
English
chodesh
“A Hebrew loanword used in Jewish religious and calendrical contexts”
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