Hebrew

Noun

אָרוֹן • ‎(arón) m ‎(plural indefinite אֲרוֹנוֹת, singular construct אֲרוֹן־)

1. A cupboard, closet, cabinet, or similar piece of furniture.

   איפה ארון הספרים?‎ ― eifo aron ha-s'farim? ― Where is the bookcase?

2. A coffin or casket.
   • c. 1000–500 BCE, Genesis 50:26, with translation of the King James Version:

     וַיָּמָת יוֹסֵף בֶּן־מֵאָה וָעֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים וַיַּחַנְטוּ אֹתוֹ וַיִּישֶׂם בָּאָרוֹן בְּמִצְרָיִם׃‎

     vayamat yosef ben-mea va'eser shanim vayakhantu oto vayisem baaron b'mitzrayim.

     So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

3. (military slang) One of the bars on the shoulders of Israeli military uniforms to indicate rank (with more bars indicating a higher rank).
4. (slang, in definite forms) The metaphorical closet in which persons who are secretly GLBT are imagined to reside (as in English).

Usage notes

• This noun is sometimes vocalized as אָרוֹן, sometimes as אֲרוֹן. In either case, its pronunciation is the same in Modern Israeli Hebrew.

Derived terms

• אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית ‎(aron habrit, “Ark of the Covenant”)

Anagrams

• נורא

Ladino

Etymology

From Hebrew ארון ‎(arón).

Noun

ארון m ‎(Hebrew spelling, Latin spelling arón, plural ארונות)

1. grave

Yiddish

Noun

ארון • ‎(orn) m

1. (nonstandard) Unpointed form of אָרון ‎(orn).