abraham

abraham — noun

1. An ancient figure in the Hebrew Bible whose son Isaac is honoured in Jewish trad

1.nounB2
Definition

An ancient figure in the Hebrew Bible whose son Isaac is honoured in Jewish tradition as the first ancestor of the Jewish people; Christians remember him as an example of strong faith, and Muslims trace the Arab nations to his other son, Ishmael. Stories about him appear in the Book of Genesis and in the Quran.

Example

The pastor read the story of Abraham and his son Isaac to the Sunday school class.

proper noun: a named figure in religious teaching

Hana wrote her university essay on how Jews, Christians, and Muslims all look back to Abraham.

collocation: look back to Abraham (shared origin)

Common collocations
  • the story of Abraham
  • Abraham and Isaac
  • the God of Abraham
  • the children of Abraham
Synonyms
  • Ibrahim

    the Arabic and Islamic form of the same name; refers to the same figure in the Quran

Usage Note

Frequently appears with 'son', 'father', 'God', or one of 'Jews / Christians / Muslims' as a marker of which tradition is being discussed. Often paired with 'Isaac' or 'Ishmael' (his sons) and 'Sarah' or 'Hagar' (the mothers).

Common Mistakes

Abraham wrote the first book of the Bible.
Abraham is a person in the first book of the Bible.
he is a character in Genesis, not its author.

Word family

  • Abrahamic
    adjectiveC1

Common collocations

Nouns

  • the story of Abraham
  • the children of Abraham
  • the God of Abraham
  • the faith of Abraham

Phrases

  • Abraham and Isaac
  • Abraham and Sarah
  • the descendants of Abraham

Prepositions

  • about Abraham
  • to Abraham

Etymology

HebrewGreekLatinEnglish

The name comes from Hebrew 'Avraham', which the Book of Genesis explains as 'father of many nations'. It builds on an older form 'Avram', meaning 'high father' or 'exalted father'. The name passed through Greek and Latin Bibles into English, and through Arabic into the form 'Ibrahim' used by Muslims.

First known use

12th century

12th century, in the meaning defined above