Where Do Hebrew Acronyms Come From?

Medieval and modern Hebrew are unusually rich in abbreviations, but in a manner that is the reverse of English.

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Brian Kaye writes:

I know that acronyms are rarely used in Semitic languages like Arabic and are not present in biblical Hebrew. The Talmud, which is mostly written in Judeo-Aramaic, contains some mnemonics to help remember various facts. These do not seem to be true acronyms as are, for instance, the names of famous medieval rabbis like Rashi [Rabbi Shlomo Yitsḥaki] or Rambam [Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon]. When did acronyms start being used in Hebrew? Was their introduction the result of an influence from European languages?

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Got a question for Philologos? Ask him directly at philologos@mosaicmagazine.com.

Brian Kaye writes:

I know that acronyms are rarely used in Semitic languages like Arabic and are not present in biblical Hebrew. The Talmud, which is mostly written in Judeo-Aramaic, contains some mnemonics to help remember various facts. These do not seem to be true acronyms as are, for instance, the names of famous medieval rabbis like Rashi [Rabbi Shlomo Yitsḥaki] or Rambam [Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon]. When did acronyms start being used in Hebrew? Was their introduction the result of an influence from European languages?

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