Halakh
/haˈlaχ/noun
A transliteration of the Hebrew verb meaning “to go,” “walk,” or “proceed.”
Did you know?The Hebrew noun halakha—Jewish religious law—is derived from this same verb, literally framing religious practice as “the way one walks.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*halak
“To go or walk; a reconstructed Semitic verbal root”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
הלך (hālak)
“To go, walk, travel, or conduct oneself”
Rabbinic Hebrew
Mishnaic Hebrew
הלך (halakh)
“To proceed or behave in a particular manner”
Late Antiquity
Aramaic/Hebrew
הלכה (halakha)
“A way of proceeding; established religious practice or legal ruling”
19th–20th Century
English
halakh
“Scholarly transliteration of the Hebrew verb”
Modern English
English
halakh
“To walk, go, or proceed, chiefly in academic or Jewish-studies contexts”