Etymology

rabbi

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Today it means: A Jewish scholar or teacher of halacha (Jewish law), capable of making halachic decisions. Full definition →

Middle English raby ← Ecclesiastical Latin rabbi ← Koine Greek ῥαββί
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The story

  1. Hebrew · derived fromרַבִּי“my master”
  2. Koine Greek · derived fromῥαββί
  3. Ecclesiastical Latin · derived fromrabbi
  4. Middle English · inherited fromraby
  5. English todayrabbi

From Middle English raby, from Ecclesiastical Latin rabbi, and its source Koine Greek ῥαββί (rhabbí), from (post-Tanakh) Hebrew רַבִּי (rabbi, “my master”), from רַב (rav, “master”) + ־ִי (-í, “my”). Compare late Old English rabbi. Doublet of rebbe and related to rav.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.