Etymology

gehenna

G2E1H4E1N1N1A1

Today it means: In rabbinical literature and Christian and Islamic scripture, the place where the souls of the wicked go after death, where they suffer eternal damnation or annihilation. Full definition →

Ecclesiastical Latin gehenna ← Ancient Greek γέεννα ← Hebrew גֵּיהִנּוֹם
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Hebrew · derived fromגֵּיהִנּוֹם“hell”
  2. Ancient Greek · derived fromγέεννα
  3. Ecclesiastical Latin · borrowed fromgehenna
  4. English todayGehenna

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin gehenna, from Ancient Greek γέεννα (géenna), from Hebrew גֵּיהִנּוֹם (ge'henom, “hell”, literally “valley of Hinnom”), named after the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, which was constantly filled with the waste of the city, which was then burnt. Heinous deeds are also associated with this valley, as during the time when Jerusalem was ruled by non-Jews (referred to in scriptures simply as 'pagans') child sacrifice was practiced there.

Words from the same roots

Hebrewגֵּיהִנּוֹם all →

Gehinnom

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.