אונן

Hebrew

Root
א־נ־ן (ʾ-n-n)
1 term

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(ʔ)oˈnan/

• Audio:

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Proper noun

אוֹנָן • ('Onán) m

1. (biblical) Onan
   • Tanach, Genesis 38:8, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוּדָה לְאוֹנָן בֹּא אֶל־אֵשֶׁת אָחִיךָ וְיַבֵּם אֹתָהּ וְהָקֵם זֶרַע לְאָחִיךָ׃

     And Judah said unto Onan: ‘Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother unto her, and raise up seed to thy brother.’

Derived terms

• אוֹנֵן ('onén, “to masturbate”)
• אוֹנָנוּת ('onanút, “onanism, masturbation”)
• אוֹנָנִי ('onaní, “onanistic”)

Descendants

• → English: Onan
• → Ancient Greek: Αὐνάν (Aunán)

Etymology 2

Derived from the biblical character Onan, who failed to perform the mitzvah of levirate marriage and as a result was put to death by God (Genesis 38:9-11). From the fact that he did so by coitus interruptus a number of Jewish and Christian schools of thought expand upon this story to include masturbation as a sin and the term onanism was thus coined in Western Europe, which was later calqued into Modern Hebrew.

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(ʔ)oˈnen/

Verb

אוֹנֵן • ('onén) (pi'el construction)

1. to masturbate
2. (slang) to be lazy

Conjugation

Conjugation of אוֹנֵן (see also Appendix:Hebrew verbs)

non-finite forms		to-infinitive		לְאוֹנֵן
		action noun		אוֹנָנוּת
finite forms		singular		plural
		m	f	m	f
past	first	אוֹנַנְתִּי		אוֹנַנּוּ
	second	אוֹנַנְתָּ	אוֹנַנְתְּ	אוֹנַנְתֶּם	אוֹנַנְתֶּן
	third	אוֹנֵן	אוֹנְנָה	אוֹנְנוּ
present		מְאוֹנֵן	מְאוֹנֶנֶת	מְאוֹנְנִים	מְאוֹנְנוֹת
future	first	אֲאוֹנֵן		נְאוֹנֵן
	second	תְּאוֹנֵן	תְּאוֹנְנִי	תְּאוֹנְנוּ	תְּאוֹנֵנָּה1
	third	יְאוֹנֵן	תְּאוֹנֵן	יְאוֹנְנוּ	תְּאוֹנֵנָּה1
imperative		אוֹנֵן	אוֹנְנִי	אוֹנְנוּ	אוֹנֵנָּה1

¹ Rare in Modern Hebrew.

Synonyms

• הביא ביד (heví beyád)
• עינג את עצמו ('inég et 'atsmó)
• עשה ביד ('asá beyád)

Noun

אוֹנֵן • ('onén) m (plural indefinite אוֹנְנִים, singular construct אוֹנֵן־)

1. masturbator, onanist

References

• H209 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Klein, Ernest (1987) “אוֹנָן”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[1], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 12c
• “אונן” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language