Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Adam

Ad′am

,
Noun.
1.
The name given in the Bible to the first man, the progenitor of the human race.
2.
(As a symbol)
“Original sin;” human frailty.
And whipped the offending
Adam
out of him.
Shakespeare
Adam’s ale
,
water.
[Coll.]
–
Adam's apple
.
1.
(Bot.)
(a)
A species of banana (
Musa paradisiaca
). It attains a height of twenty feet or more.
Paxton.
(b)
A species of lime (
Citris limetta
).
2.
The projection formed by the thyroid cartilage in the neck. It is particularly prominent in males, and is so called from a notion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit (an apple) sticking in the throat of our first parent.
–
Adam's flannel
(Bot.)
,
the mullein (
Verbascum thapsus
).
–
Adam's needle
(Bot.)
,
the popular name of a genus (
Yucca
) of liliaceous plants.

Webster 1828 Edition

Adam

AD'AM

,
Noun.
In Heb., Man; primarily, the name of the human species, mankind; appropriately, the first Man, the progenitor of the human race. The word signifies form, shape, or suitable form, hence, species. It is evidently connected with Heb., to be like or equal, to form an image, to assimilate. Whence the sense of likeness, image, form, shape; Gr., a body, like. [See Man.]
Adam's apple, a species of citron [See Citron] also the prominent part of the throat.
Ad'am's needle, the popular name of the yucca, a plant of four species, cultivated in gardens. Of the roots, the Indians made a kind of bread. [See Yucca.]

Definition 2024

Adam

Adam

See also: adam, adām, ādām, Ádam, Âdam, Ádám, and A'dam

English

Proper noun

Adam ‎(plural Adams)

  1. (Abrahamic religions) The first man and the progenitor of the human race.
    • 1611 — King James Version of the Bible, Genesis 3:20
      And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
    • 1667 — John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book VII
      Say Goddess, what ensu’d when Raphael, / The affable Arch-Angel, had forewarn'd / Adam by dire example to beware / Apostasie,
  2. A male given name.
    • 1859 — George Eliot, Adam Bede, ch 1
      Adam Bede was a Saxon, and justified his name; but the jet-black hair, made the more noticeable by its contrast with the light paper cap, and the keen glance of the dark eyes that shone from under strongly marked, prominent and mobile eyebrows, indicated a mixture of Celtic blood.
    • 1904 — Mark Twain, Extracts from Adam's Diary
      Since then I have deciphered some more of Adam’s hieroglyphics, and think he has now become sufficiently important as a public character to justify this publication.
    • 1933 — Eleanor Farjeon, Over the Garden Wall, Faber and Faber 1933, page 90 ("Boys' Names")
      What splendid names for boys there are! / There's Carol like a rolling car, / And Martin like a flying bird, / And Adam like the Lord's First Word,
  3. (figuratively) Original sin or human frailty.
  4. (with second or last) Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice, in Christian theology, makes possible the forgiveness of Adam's original sin.
  5. Designating a neoclassical style of furniture and architecture in the style of Robert and James Adam.
    • 1936, HP Lovecraft, ‘The Haunter of the Dark’:
      Inside were six-panelled doors, wide floor-boards, a curving colonial staircase, white Adam-period mantels, and a rear set of rooms three steps below the general level.
  6. A patronymic surname​.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

Catalan

Pronunciation

  • (Eastern) IPA(key): /əˈdam/, [əˈðam]
  • (Western) IPA(key): /aˈdam/, [aˈðam]

Etymology

From Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Proper noun

Adam m

  1. A male given name, cognate to English Adam.
  2. Adam (biblical figure)

Czech

Etymology

From Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Proper noun

Adam m

  1. A male given name, cognate to Adam.

Related terms

Danish

Etymology

From Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Proper noun

Adam

  1. Adam (biblical figure)
  2. A male given name.

Ewe

Etymology

From Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Proper noun

Adam

  1. Adam (biblical figure)
  2. A male given name.

See also

French

Etymology

From Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Adam

  1. Adam (biblical figure)
  2. A male given name.

Related terms

Anagrams

German

Etymology

From Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Adam m

  1. Adam (biblical figure)
  2. A male given name. Pet form: Adi

Icelandic

Etymology

From Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Proper noun

Adam m ‎(genitive singular Adams, no plural)

  1. Adam (biblical figure)
  2. A male given name

Derived terms

See also

Anagrams

Italian

Etymology

Alteration of MDMA

Noun

Adam m ‎(invariable)

  1. (informal) ecstasy (drug)

Latin

Alternative forms

Proper noun

Ādām m ‎(indeclinable)
Ādām m ‎(genitive Ādae); first declension

  1. Adam (Biblical character)

Inflection

First declension, nominative/vocative singular in -ām.

Case Singular Plural
nominative Ādām Ādae
genitive Ādae Ādārum
dative Ādae Ādīs
accusative Ādām Ādās
ablative Ādām
Ādā 		Ādīs
vocative Ādām Ādae

References

Norwegian

Etymology

From Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Proper noun

Adam

  1. Adam (biblical figure)
  2. A male given name.

Polish

Etymology

From Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Adam m pers ‎(diminutive Adaś)

  1. A male given name

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ǎdam/
  • Hyphenation: A‧dam

Proper noun

Àdam m ‎(Cyrillic spelling А̀дам)

  1. Adam (biblical figure)
  2. A male given name.

Declension

See also

Slovak

Proper noun

Adam m

  1. A male given name.

Spanish

Etymology

From Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Proper noun

Adam m

  1. Adam (biblical figure)
    • 1602 — La Santa Biblia (antigua versión de Casiodoro de Reina), rev., Génesis 2:20
      Y puso Adam nombres á toda bestia y ave de los cielos y á todoanimal del campo.

Swedish

Etymology

From Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Proper noun

Adam

  1. Adam (biblical figure)
  2. A male given name. Pet form: Adde.

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English Adam.

Proper noun

Adam

  1. Adam
    • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Genesis 2:20 (translation here):
      Tasol i no gat wanpela bilong ol dispela samting inap i stap poroman bilong helpim Adam.
This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

Turkish

Proper noun

Adam

  1. A male given name

adam

adam

See also: adām, ādām, Adam, Ádam, Âdam, Ádám, and A'dam

Kalasha

Noun

adam

  1. body
  2. A piece (of something)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible.

Noun

adam

  1. Certain properties of a person, often derived from the biblical story
    Den gamle adam ‎(“sinful human nature”, literally “the old adam”)
    Adams drakt or adamsdrakt ‎(“to be naked”, literally “Adam's costume”)
  2. Used in sayings and proverbs
    Hvor lenge var Adam i paradis? ‎(“Happiness is often short-lived”, literally “How long was Adam in Paradise?”)

Turkish

Etymology

From Arabic آدَم ‎(ʾādam), from Hebrew אָדָם ‎(âdâm).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɑ.dɑm/

Noun

adam ‎(definite accusative adamı, plural adamlar)

  1. man (adult human male)
  2. human

Declension

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Etymology

Latin Adam, Adamus, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ ‎(Adám), Ἄδαμος ‎(Ádamos), from Biblical Hebrew אָדָם ‎(adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”), from אדמה ‎(adamah, “red earth, ground”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈæ.dəm/
  • Homophone: atom (accents with flapping)

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