Ab or Av (related to Akkadian ''abu''), sometimes Abba, means "

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

" in most

Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigra ...

. The original word of Aba or Ab is from Ge'ez language.

Arabic

''Ab'' (), from a theoretical, abstract form ( ''ʼabawun'') (

triliteral The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or "radicals" (hence the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of actual words by adding the vowels ...

ʼ- b- w) is

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

for "

". The dual is ( ''ʼabawāni'') or ( ''ʼabāni'') "two fathers" or "mother and father" ( ''ʼābāʼi-ka'' meaning "thy parents"). ''Li- llāhi ʼabū-ka'' () is an expression of praise, meaning "to God is attributable he excellence ofyour father". As a verb, '' ʼ-b-w'' means "to become sa father to omebody (أَبَوْتُه ''ʼabawt-uh'', "paternity") or "to adopt imas a father" (تأَبَّبَهُ ''ta'abbaba-hu'' or اِسْتَأَبَّهُ ''ista'aba-hu''). In the

construct state In Afro-Asiatic languages, the first noun in a genitive phrase of a possessed noun followed by a possessor noun often takes on a special morphological form, which is termed the construct state (Latin ''status constructus''). For example, in Arabi ...

, ''Abū'' () is followed by another word to form a complete name, e.g.: Abu Mazen, another name for Mahmoud Abbas. Abu may be used as a kunya, an honorific. To refer to a man by his fatherhood (of male offspring) is polite, so that ''ʼabū'' takes the function of an honorific. Even a man that is as yet childless may still be known as ''abū'' of his father's name, implying that he will yet have a son called after his father. The combination is extended beyond the literal sense: a man may be described as acting as a father in his relation to animals, e.g.,

Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...

, "the father of a camel's foal"; Abu Huraira, "father of kittens". In some cases, a man's enemies will refer to him in such a way to besmirch him, e.g. Abu Jahl, "the father of ignorance". A man may be described as being the possessor of some quality, as Abu'l Na'ama "father of grace", or "the graceful one"; Abu'l Fida, "father of devotion", or "the devout one". An object or a place may be given a nickname, such as Abu'l hawl, "father of terror", (the

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

at Giza). Abu'l fulus, "father of money", is frequently used to refer to a place where rumors have been told of a treasure being hidden there. The Swahili word '' Bwana'', meaning "mister", "sir", or "lord", is derived from the Arabic ''Abuna'' (), "our father".

Aramaic

The

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

term for

is אבא (''abba'').

Judaism

The Aramaic term ''abba'' (אבא, he, אב (av), "father") appears in traditional

Jewish liturgy Jewish liturgy is the customary public worship of Judaism. The liturgy may include responsive reading, songs, or music, as found in the Torah and Haftorah, the Amidah, piyyutim, and Psalms. Singing or reading the Psalms has a special role in th ...

and Jewish prayers to God, e.g. in the

Kaddish Kaddish or Qaddish or Qadish ( arc, קדיש "holy") is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different version ...

(קדיש, ''Qaddish''

, he, קדש (Qādash), "holy"). The ''

Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot ( he, פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth''), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from ...

'' ( he, פרקי אבות "Chapters of the Fathers") are a

Mishna The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

ic tractate of ''Avot'', the second-to-last tractate in the order of

Nezikin ''Nezikin'' ( he, נזיקין ''Neziqin'', "Damages") or ''Seder Nezikin'' (, "The Order of Damages") is the fourth Order of the Mishna (also the Tosefta and Talmud). It deals largely with Jewish criminal and civil law and the Jewish court s ...

in the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

. The tractate of ''Pirkei Avot'' deals with ethical and moral principles.

Christendom

A transliteration of the Aramaic term ''abba'' also appears three times in the Greek New Testament of the Bible. Each time the term appears in transliteration it is followed immediately by the translation ''ho pater'' in Greek, which literally means “the father.” In each case it is used with reference to God. Mark records that Jesus used the term when praying in Gethsemane shortly before his death, saying: “''Abba'', Father, all things are possible to you; remove this cup from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want.” (Mark 14:36) The two other occurrences are in Paul's letters, at Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6. It seems evident from these texts that, in apostolic times, the Christians made use of the term ''’Abba'' in their prayers to God. Early Christian

desert fathers The Desert Fathers or Desert Monks were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt, beginning around the third century AD. The is a collection of the wisdom of some of the ea ...

are referred to as ''abba'': '' Abba Anthony'', '' Abba Macarius''. In Oriental Orthodoxy some high ranking bishop titles derive from ''Abba'' (

Aboona Abuna (or Abune, which is the status constructus form used when a name follows: Ge'ez አቡነ ''abuna''/''abune'', 'our father'; Amharic and Tigrinya) is the honorific title used for any bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as w ...

, Abuna). Some Christian literature translates ''abba'' to "daddy", suggesting that it is a childlike, intimate term for one's father. However, ''abba'', unlike "daddy", is used by adult children as well as young children, and in the time of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

it was neither markedly a

term of endearment A term of endearment is a word or phrase used to address or describe a person, animal or inanimate object for which the speaker feels love or affection. Terms of endearment are used for a variety of reasons, such as parents addressing their ch ...

James Barr, "Abba isn't 'daddy'", Journal of Theological Studies, 39:28-47. nor a formal word. Scholars suggest instead translating it as "Papa", as the word normally used by sons and daughters, throughout their lives, in the family context.Mary Rose D'Angelo, "Abba and 'Father': Imperial Theology and the Jesus Traditions", Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 111, No. 4 (Winter, 1992), pp. 615-616 The name

Barabbas Barabbas (; ) was, according to the New Testament, a prisoner who was chosen over Jesus by the crowd in Jerusalem to be pardoned and released by Roman governor Pontius Pilate at the Passover feast. Biblical account According to all four canoni ...

in the New Testament comes from the Aramaic phrase ''Bar Abba'' meaning "son of the father".

Hebrew

''Av'' ( he, אָב,

Standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

''Av'' Tiberian ''ʾĀḇ''

אבא ''Abba''; related to Akkadian ''abu''; "

" ; plural: he, אבות ''Avot'' or ''Abot'') means "father" in Hebrew. The exact meaning of the element ''ab'' (אב) or ''abi'' (אבי) in Hebrew personal names (such as Ab-ram, Ab-i-ram, Ah-ab, Jo-ab) is a matter of dispute. The identity of the ''-i-'' with the first person pronominal suffix (as in Adona-i), changing "father" to "my father", is uncertain; it might also be simply a connecting vowel. The compound may either express a

nominal phrase In linguistics, a noun phrase, or nominal (phrase), is a phrase that has a noun or pronoun as its head or performs the same grammatical function as a noun. Noun phrases are very common cross-linguistically, and they may be the most frequently o ...

(''Av am'' = " yfather is exalted") or simply an apposition. In the case of an apposition the second word would require a definite article (''Av hasafa'' = "father of the language", ''Ha''= the). The word generally used today for "father" in Hebrew is ''abba,'' though ''ab'' survives in such archaisms as ''Abi Mori'' ("My father, my master") and ''Kibud av wa-em'' ( "Honor of father and mother").

Coptic

In the non-Semitic Coptic language, ''apa'' means father. It was originally used as a title of reverence for clergy and was later extended to martyrs. Many variants are known. The form ''apater'' or ''apa pater'' appears at the beginning of the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

. ''Anba'' and ''ampa'' are attested variants, often used in Arabic among Copts. In the

Copto-Arabic Synaxarion Copto-Arabic literature is the literature of the Copts written in Arabic. It is distinct from Coptic literature, which is literature written in the Coptic language. Copto-Arabic literature begins in the 10th century, has its golden age in the 13 ...

, it is ''apou''; in the '' Sayings of the Desert Fathers'', it is ''abba'' or ''abbas''. The feminine forms ''ama'' or ''amma'' are used for nuns.

Aziz Suryal Atiya Aziz Suryal Atiya ( ar, عزيز سوريال عطية, ; July 5, 1898 – September 24, 1988) was an Egyptian Coptologist who was a Coptic historian and scholar and an expert in Islamic and Crusades studies. Atiya was the founder of the In ...

(1991)
Apa
''Coptic Encyclopedia'', vol. 1.

Somali

Father is translated ''aabbe'' or ''aabe'', with the definite article form ''aabbaha'' or ''aabaha'' (the father).

References

Citations

{{Reflist, 30em

Bibliography

Abba
(jewishencyclopedia.com)
Abi and Ab in personal names
(jewishencyclopedia.com) * Gray, ''Hebrew Proper Names,'' pp. 22–34, 75–86 * Edward William Lane, Arabic English Lexicon, 1893 Arabic words and phrases Aramaic words and phrases Hebrew words and phrases