Yom Ha'Atzmaut
/jɔːm haʔats.maˈʔut/noun
The Hebrew name for Israel's Independence Day, observed annually on the fifth day of Iyar in the Hebrew calendar.
Did you know?The word atzmaut comes from the Hebrew root ע־צ־ם, also associated with etzem, meaning “bone” or “substance,” giving independence the underlying sense of possessing one’s own essential substance.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*yawm-
“Day or daylight period”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
יוֹם (yom)
“Day; a period of time”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
עֶצֶם (ʿetsem)
“Bone, essence, or essential substance”
Modern Hebrew
Hebrew
עַצְמָאוּת (atzmaut)
“Independence; self-rule, formed from the idea of being one’s own essential self”
1949–present
Modern Hebrew
יוֹם הָעַצְמָאוּת (Yom Ha'Atzmaut)
“Israel's Independence Day, literally “Day of Independence””
Explore more surprising origins