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amen

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌɑːˈmen/, /ˌeɪˈmen/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English amen,[2][3][4] borrowed from Late Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn),[2][3][5][4] from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn, “truth, certainty, verily”),[2][3][5][6][7] from a Semitic root meaning to be trustworthy or to confirm.[3] The Septuagint adopted it as a solemn affirmation, which brought it into early Christian Greek and Latin.[2][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

As the closing word of a text: about 950 in the OED, before 1000 in Barnhart, as in Cynewulf and Ælfric.[8][2]

Semantic evolution

In Old English it was used only at the end of the Gospels, and elsewhere translated by expressions meaning “truly” or “so it is”.[3] As a response of agreement after prayers it is from about 1230.[3][8] The Bible keeps it from the Greek or Hebrew in the sense truly, verily (about 1382).[8] The noun, an expression of assent, is from 1579,[8][4] and a conclusion from 1677.[8] The American amen corner of a meeting-house is from 1860.[3][8]

Timeline

  • c. 950 – a concluding formula.[8]
  • c. 1230 – amen after a prayer.[8]
  • c. 1382 – truly, verily.[8]
  • 1579 – an amen (noun).[8][4]
  • 1860 – amen corner (US).[3]

Modern meaning

Interjection

  1. Said at the end of a prayer or statement to express agreement; so be it.

Noun

  1. The word amen, or an expression of assent.
  2. say amen to: to express strong approval of something.

Word family

  • amen corner

Usage notes

Amen, also Amon or Amun, the ram-headed Egyptian god, is a separate name.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins