נשיא

Hebrew

Root
נ־שׂ־א (n-s-ʾ)
20 terms

Etymology

Literally "lifted up" or "exalted", metaphorically referring to the higher status of a ruler.

Pronunciation

(Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /naˈsi/
Audio: (file)

Noun

נָשִׂיא • (nasí') m (plural indefinite נְשִׂיאִים, singular construct נְשִׂיא־, plural construct נְשִׂיאֵי־, feminine counterpart נְשִׂיאָה) [pattern: קָטִיל]

A president: a head of state in various forms of government.
(biblical and historical) A prince: the head or ruler of a nation or tribe.
- Tanach, Genesis 34:2, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:
  וַיַּרְא אֹתָהּ שְׁכֶם בֶּן־חֲמוֹר הַחִוִּי נְשִׂיא הָאָרֶץ וַיִּקַּח אֹתָהּ וַיִּשְׁכַּב אֹתָהּ וַיְעַנֶּהָ׃
  And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince [ruler] of the land, saw her; and he took her, and lay with her, and humbled her.
(historical) A chairman, a head; especially, the "prince" (head) of the Sanhedrin.
(נְשִׂיא־, n'si-) singular construct state form of נָשִׂיא‎.
(poetic, obsolete) a cloud
- Tanach, Proverbs 25:14, with translation of NRSV:
  נְשִׂיאִים וְרוּחַ וְגֶשֶׁם אָיִן; אִישׁ מִתְהַלֵּל בְּמַתַּת שָׁקֶר.
  [Like] clouds and wind without rain; is one who boasts of a gift never given.

Usage notes

(president): In reference to the present, the noun נשיא is applied to the same heads of state as English president, some of whom are democratically elected leaders, some of whom are appointed by democratically appointed leaders, and some of whom are unelected dictators. It therefore does not have any one specific meaning.
(prince): Although נשיא is frequently translated as "prince" in historical contexts, the son or heir to a king was more often called a נסיך (nasíkh), and in current usage the latter term is extended to hereditary rulers of principalities, just like English prince.

Declension

Declension of נָשִׂיא
	isolated forms		with possessive pronouns
Number:	State:	form	Person:	singular		plural
Number:	State:	form	Person:	m	f	m	f
singular	indefinite	נָשִׂיא	first	נְשִׂיאִי		נְשִׂיאֵנוּ
	definite	הַנָּשִׂיא	second	נְשִׂיאֲךָ	נְשִׂיאֵךְ	נְשִׂיאֲכֶם	נְשִׂיאֲכֶן
	construct	נְשִׂיא־	third	נְשִׂיאוֹ	נְשִׂיאָהּ	נְשִׂיאָם	נְשִׂיאָן
plural	indefinite	נְשִׂיאִים	first	נשיאיי / נְשִׂיאַי		נְשִׂיאֵינוּ
	definite	הַנְּשִׂיאִים	second	נְשִׂיאֶיךָ	נשיאייך / נְשִׂיאַיִךְ	נְשִׂיאֵיכֶם	נְשִׂיאֵיכֶן
	construct	נְשִׂיאֵי־	third	נְשִׂיאָיו	נְשִׂיאֶיהָ	נְשִׂיאֵיהֶם	נְשִׂיאֵיהֶן

Synonyms

נָגִיד (nagíd)

Derived terms

נְשִׂיאוּת (n'si'út)

References

H5387 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Klein, Ernest (1987) “נָשִׂיא”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[1], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 428c
Jastrow, Marcus (1903) A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature‎^[2], London, New York: Luzac & Co., G.P. Putnam's Sons, page 939a
“נשיא” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language