אדם

Aramaic edit

אדם • (adám)

Root
א־ד־ם (ʾ-d-m)

Comparable to Phoenician 𐤀𐤃𐤌 (ʾdm, “man, earthling”), Ugaritic 𐎀𐎄𐎎 (ảdm, “man; red earth, red ochre”), Old South Arabian 𐩱𐩵𐩣 (ʾdm, “vassals, subjects”), Ge'ez ዶም (dom, “slave”), Akkadian 𒀀𒁕𒄠𒈬 (a-da-am-mu /⁠adamu⁠/, “blood”), Akkadian 𒀀𒁕𒈠𒌈 (a-da-ma-tum /⁠adamātu⁠/, “dark red earth or dye”), Akkadian 𒀀𒁕𒈬 (a-da-mu /⁠adamu⁠/, “a red garment”), Akkadian 𒀀𒁕𒈬 (a-da-mu /⁠adamu⁠/, “an important or noble person”). The meaning range points to these words being extensions from Proto-Semitic *dam- (“blood”), compare the Palestinian Aramaic forms of it אדם / אידם / ܐܕܡ (ʾəḏem, “blood”). The meaning development could be any of the following:

“blood” → “red earth”, “red ochre” → “earthling”;
“blood” → “man”, as blood is a main ingredient of humans;
“blood” → “red earth”, “red ochre” → “the dye to paint idols” → hence “an idol” → “an effigy, a likeness” → “a man”;
“blood” → “blood sacrifice to appease an idol” → hence “an idol” → “an effigy, a likeness” → “a man”;
“blood” → “red” → “to show red blood in the face, e.g. to blush” → “a human”.

Compare Arabic دُمْيَة (dumya, “statue, idol; effigy, likeness; doll, puppet”), دَمَّ (damma, “to bedaub”).

אָדָם • (adám) m [pattern: קָטָל]

man, human
אָדָם לְאָדָם זְאֵב ― adám l'adám z'év ― Man is a wolf to man. (cf. homō hominī lupus)

For plural, בני אדם or אנשים can be used.

אָדָם • (adám) m

chapter DM, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
H120 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible

Root
א־ד־ם (ʾ-d-m)

אָדֹם • (adóm) (feminine אֲדֻמָּה, masculine plural אֲדֻמִּים, feminine plural אֲדֻמּוֹת)

אֹדֶם • (ódem) m