Meanings
- biblicalThe son of Adam and Eve who was killed by his brother Cain.
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 4:8 - A male given name from Hebrew.
- A surname originating as a patronymic.
- An unincorporated community in Cleburne County, Alabama, United States, named after the biblical Abel.
Origin
- Biblical Hebrewהָ֑בֶל (háḇel)
- Ancient GreekἍβελ (Hábel)
- LatinAbē̆l
- Old EnglishĀbel
- Middle EnglishAbel
- EnglishAbel
From Middle English Abel, from Old English Ābel, from Latin Abel, from Ancient Greek Ἅβελ (Hábel), from Biblical Hebrew הֶבֶל (Héḇel, “Abel”), possibly from the homonymous word הֶבֶל (heḇel, “breath, vapor; vanity”) or from Akkadian 𒌉𒍑 (ablu, “son”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Ἅβελ
- Ἅβελ (Hábel)son of Adam and Eve
Arabic هَابِيل
- هَابِيل (hābīl)son of Adam and Eve
Basque Abel
- Abelson of Adam and Eve
Bengali হাবীল, হাবীল
- হাবীল (habīl)son of Adam and Eve
- হাবীল (habīl)male given name
Bulgarian А́вел, Е́йбъл
- А́вел (Ável)son of Adam and Eve
- Е́йбъл (Éjbăl)male given name
Catalan Abel, Abel
- Abelson of Adam and Eve
- Abelmale given name
Chinese Cantonese 亞伯 /亚伯, 亞伯爾 /亚伯尔
- 亞伯 /亚伯 (aa³ baak³)son of Adam and Eve
- 亞伯爾 /亚伯尔 (aa³ baak³ ji⁵)son of Adam and Eve
- 阿貝爾 /阿贝尔 (aa³ bui³ ji⁵)male given name
- 亞伯 /亚伯 (aa³ baak³)male given name
Chinese Mandarin 亞伯 /亚伯, 亞伯爾 /亚伯尔
- 亞伯 /亚伯 (Yàbó)son of Adam and Eve
- 亞伯爾 /亚伯尔 (Yàbó'ěr)son of Adam and Eve
- 阿貝爾 /阿贝尔 (Ābèi'ěr)male given name
- 亞伯 /亚伯 (Yàbó)male given name
Czech Ábel
- Ábelson of Adam and Eve
Danish Abel, Abel
- Abelson of Adam and Eve
- Abelmale given name
Dutch Abel, Abel
- Abelson of Adam and Eve
- Abelmale given name
Esperanto Habelo
- Habeloson of Adam and Eve
Estonian Aabel
- Aabelson of Adam and Eve
Finnish Abel, Aapeli
- Abelson of Adam and Eve
- Aapelimale given name
French Abel, Abel
- Abelson of Adam and Eve
- Abelmale given name
German Abel, Abel
- Abelson of Adam and Eve
- Abelmale given name
Greek Άβελ
- Άβελ (Ável)son of Adam and Eve
Hawaiian ʻAbela, ʻApela
- ʻAbelason of Adam and Eve
- ʻApelamale given name
Hebrew הֶבֶל
- הֶבֶל (hevel)son of Adam and Eve
Hindi हाबील, एबल
- हाबील (hābīl)son of Adam and Eve
- एबल (ebal)male given name
Italian Abele
- Abeleson of Adam and Eve
Japanese アベル, アベル
- アベル (Aberu)son of Adam and Eve
- アベル (Aberu)male given name
Korean 아벨, 아벨
- 아벨son of Adam and Eve
- 아벨 (abel)male given name
Latin Abelus
- Abelusson of Adam and Eve
Malay Habil, Habel
- Habilson of Adam and Eve
- Habelson of Adam and Eve
- Habilmale given name
Norwegian Abel
- Abelmale given name
Norwegian Bokmål Abel
- Abelson of Adam and Eve
Persian هابیل
- هابیل (hâbil)son of Adam and Eve
Polish Abel, Abel
- Abelson of Adam and Eve
- Abelmale given name
Portuguese Abel, Abel
- Abelson of Adam and Eve
- Abelmale given name
Russian А́вель, Э́йбел
- А́вель (Ávelʹ)son of Adam and Eve
- Э́йбел (Éjbel)male given name
Slovak Ábel
- Ábelson of Adam and Eve
Spanish Abel, Abel
- Abelson of Adam and Eve
- Abelmale given name
Swedish Abel, Abel
- Abelson of Adam and Eve
- Abelmale given name
Turkish Habil
- Habilson of Adam and Eve
Ukrainian А́вель
- А́вель (Ávelʹ)son of Adam and Eve
Vietnamese A-bên
- A-bênson of Adam and Eve
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Abel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Abel
“Abel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Abel. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Abel,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Abel.
Source: Abel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.