Halakhot
/hɑːləˈxoʊt/noun
The plural of halakha, referring to Jewish laws, legal rulings, or prescribed practices.
Did you know?Halakha comes from the Hebrew root meaning “to walk,” linking religious observance with the idea of physically walking a prescribed path.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*hlk
“To go or walk; the reconstructed ancestral root behind the Hebrew legal term.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
הָלַךְ (hālak)
“He went or walked; a common verb describing movement along a path.”
Rabbinic Hebrew
Hebrew
הֲלָכָה (halakhah)
“A way of conduct, established practice, or Jewish legal ruling—literally something connected with walking.”
Late Antique–Medieval Hebrew
Hebrew
הֲלָכוֹת (halakhot)
“Laws, rulings, or prescribed practices; the plural form of halakhah.”
Modern English
English
halakhot
“An English scholarly and religious term for Jewish laws or legal rulings, especially in plural.”