amen

See also: Appendix:Variations of "amen"

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English amen, from Old English āmen, from Ecclesiastical Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn, certainly, verily) (cognate with Arabic آمِينَ (ʔāmīna), Classical Syriac ܐܡܝܢ (ʾāmên)). In Old English, it was used only at the end of the Gospels. Elsewhere, it was translated as sōþlīċe! (truly”, “indeed!), swā hit is (so it is), and sīe! ([so] be it!).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /(ˌ)ɑːˈmɛn/, (uncommon, chiefly for strong agreement) /(ˌ)eɪˈmɛn/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /(ˌ)ɑːˈmɛn/, /(ˌ)eɪˈmɛn/, /ˈeɪmɛn/
  • Both pronunciations are used, sometimes even by the same speaker depending on the context.
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Audio (Ashkenazi):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛn, -eɪmɛn

Interjection

amen

  1. At the end of religious prayers: so be it.
  2. (colloquial) Used to indicate emphatic agreement.
    • 1999 May, Matt Groening, “Hell Is Other Robots”, in Futurama, season 1, episode 9:
      Fry: Bender's stupid religion is driving me nuts! / Leela: Amen!

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Adverb

amen (not comparable)

  1. (biblical) Certainly; verily.
    • 1582, English College of Rheims, transl., The New Testament of Jesus Christ[2], John 3:5, page 222:
      Iesvs anſvvered, Amen, Amen I ſay to thee, Vnles a man be borne againe of vvater and the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God.

Translations

Noun

amen (plural amens)

  1. An instance of saying ‘amen’.
    • 1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, [], published 1848, →OCLC:
      The amens of the dusty clerk appear, like Macbeth’s, to stick in his throat a little; but Captain Cuttle helps him out, []
    • 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, →OCLC, page 12:
      [H]is `Amens' were ejected at the pulpit with the severity of a reprimand.
    • 2006, Evault Boswell, The Iron Mountain Baby:
      A chorus of amens rang out across the audience.

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

amen (third-person singular simple present amens, present participle amening, simple past and past participle amened)

  1. (intransitive) To say amen.
    • 1942, Emily Carr, “Sunday”, in The Book of Small, Toronto, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →OCLC:
      The moment Dr. Reid amened, we rushed straight out of the church off home.
    • 2015, T. M. Young, Much Given, Much Required, page xxx:
      Most of the church amened and applauded.
    • 2015, Jewelle Francis, Manifest Destiny:
      She must be thinking Reverend Hopkins is talking directly to her, because she starts amening and shouting real loud when he gets to the part in Proverbs []
  2. (transitive) To say amen to; to ratify solemnly.
    • 1984 August 11, Gail Ann Williams, “Convention Views: On The Street, In The Hall”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 5, page 3:
      spending the first half of the rally amening any mention of God or Reagan

Translations

Anagrams

Ao

Etymology 1

From Proto-Central Naga *hmən, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *sV-min.

Pronunciation

  • (Chungli) IPA(key): /a˧.mɯn˧/, [a˧.mɯn˧]

Verb

amen

  1. (Chungli) to be ripe
  2. (Chungli) to ripen
Inflection
Inflection of amen (Chungli)
Affirmative Negative
Past Simple amen mamen
Perfect menogo memenogo
Present Simple amener mamener
Progressive mendar
mendagi
memendar
memendagi
Future/infinitive amentsü mamentsü
Imperative menang tamen
Present participle mena memeni
Conditional menra
menrabang
memenra
memenrabang

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • (Chungli) IPA(key): /a˥.mɯn˩/, [a˥.mɯn˩]

Verb

amen

  1. to sit
Inflection
Inflection of amen (Chungli)
Affirmative Negative
Past Simple amen mamen
Perfect menogo memenogo
Present Simple amener mamener
Progressive mendar
mendagi
memendar
memendagi
Future/infinitive amentsü mamentsü
Imperative menang tamen
Present participle mena memeni
Conditional menra
menrabang
memenra
memenrabang

Further reading

  • ("ripen")
    • Bruhn, Daniel Wayne (2014), A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Central Naga[3], Berkeley: University of California, page 229
    • Gowda, K. S. Gurubasave (1985), Ao-English-Hindi Dictionary, Mysore: Central Institute of Indian Languages, page 17
  • ("sit")
    • Bruhn, Daniel Wayne (2014), A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Central Naga[4], Berkeley: University of California, page 78
    • Clark, Mary M. (1893), Ao Naga grammar with illustrative phrases and vocabulary, Molung: Assam Secretariat Printing Office, page 160

Catalan

Pronunciation

Verb

amen

  1. third-person plural present indicative of amar

Cebuano

Etymology

Derived from Spanish amén, from Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Hebrew אמן (amén, certainly, truly).

The gesture evolved from the custom of kissing the ecclesiastical ring of Catholic clergymen.

Pronunciation

  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: a‧men

Interjection

amen

  1. at the end of religious prayers: so be it
  2. an expression of strong agreement

Verb

amen

  1. to touch one's forehead to the back of an older person's hand as a gesture of respect
    • 2018 — Pescante, Rudy L., Ang Gidangatan sa Guwapo Anib 3 (24 January), Bisaya, Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation
      "Ma, nagmabdos gyod si Milagros," maoy iyang gisugat pagsugilon niini human siya makaamen sa usang kamot sa inahan. "Puwerteng sukoa sa iyang mga ginikanan nga didto gyod sa miaging Lunes sa eskuylahan. Duna kuno unyay mahitabo kanako...
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  2. to hold out one's hand to someone, often a younger person, in order for them to touch it to their foreheads

Chuukese

Etymology

Borrowed from English amen.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /aˈmɛn/, /aˈbɛn/

Interjection

amen

  1. amen

Dutch

Etymology

Inherited from Middle Dutch amen, from Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אמן (amén, certainly, truly).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈaː.mə(n)/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: amen
  • Rhymes: -aːmən

Interjection

amen

  1. amen; at the end of Judeo-Christian prayers: so be it
  2. amen; an expression of strong agreement

Noun

amen n (plural amens, diminutive amentje n)

  1. an instance of saying ‘amen’

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Negerhollands: amen
  • ? Sranan Tongo: amen

Esperanto

Etymology

Derived from Ecclesiastical Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn, certainly, truly).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈamen/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -amen
  • Syllabification: a‧men

Interjection

amen

  1. amen

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn, certainly, truly).

Pronunciation

Interjection

amen

  1. amen

Noun

amen m (plural amens)

  1. amen

Further reading

Anagrams

Galician

Verb

amen

  1. inflection of amar:
    1. third-person plural present subjunctive
    2. third-person plural imperative

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Hebrew אמן.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈaːmən/, [ˈʔaː.mən], [-mn̩], [-mm̩]
  • IPA(key): /ˈaːmɛn/ (less common)
  • Audio:(file)
  • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):(file)
  • Homophones: ahmen, Amen (general), armen, Armen (some speakers)

Interjection

amen

  1. amen

Derived terms

  • Amen n
  • ja und amen sagen

Gothic

Romanization

amēn

  1. romanization of 𐌰𐌼𐌴𐌽

Icelandic

Interjection

amen

  1. at the end of prayers: so be it
    Í guðanna bænum, amen.
    For God's sake, amen.

Adverb

amen

  1. at the end of creed or in Biblical translations: truly, verily

Interjection

amen

  1. expressing strong agreement

Anagrams

Istriot

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn, certainly, truly).

Interjection

amen

  1. amen

References

  • Sandro Cergna (2015), Vocabolario del dialetto di Valle d'Istria, →ISBN, page 24

Italian

Alternative forms

  • amenne, ammen, ammenne (dialectal)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin āmēn.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈa.men/
  • Rhymes: -amen
  • Hyphenation: à‧men

Interjection

amen

  1. amen; so be it
  2. (colloquial) that's it; end of story
    Near-synonyms: pace, va beh, scialla
    L'esame è andato male, amen, fattene una ragione.
    The exam went bad, so be it, come to terms with it.

Derived terms

  • pace e amen

Anagrams

Latin

Etymology

    Borrowed from Koine Greek ᾱ̓μήν (āmḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn, certainly, truly); cognate with Arabic آمِين (ʔāmīn), Aramaic אַמִין (ʾamīn), Classical Syriac ܐܰܡܺܝܢ (ʾamīn).

    Pronunciation

    Adverb

    āmēn (not comparable) (biblical, Christianity, Late Latin, Medieval Latin, Ecclesiastical Latin)

    1. amen; so be it, let it be
    2. amen; truly, verily

    Interjection

    āmēn

    1. amen!

    References

    • amen”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
    • "amen", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
    • amen”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 113.
    • amen in Georges, Karl Ernst; Georges, Heinrich (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th edition, volume 1, Hahnsche Buchhandlung, column 375

    Middle Dutch

    Etymology

    Borrowed from Latin āmēn.

    Interjection

    āmen

    1. amen, so be it

    Descendants

    Further reading

    • amen”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
    • Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “amen”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

    Middle English

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    Inherited from Old English āmen, from Latin āmēn.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /aːˈmɛːn/, /aːˈmɛn/

    Interjection

    amen

    1. amen

    Descendants

    References

    Norwegian Bokmål

    Etymology

    Ultimately from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn, certainly, truly).

    Interjection

    amen

    1. amen

    Noun

    amen n (definite singular amenet, indefinite plural amen or amener, definite plural amena or amenene)

    1. an amen

    References

    Anagrams

    Norwegian Nynorsk

    Etymology

    Ultimately from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn, certainly, truly).

    Interjection

    amen

    1. amen

    Noun

    amen n (definite singular amenet, indefinite plural amen, definite plural amena)

    1. an amen

    References

    Anagrams

    Old Swedish

    Etymology

    Ultimately from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn, certainly, truly).

    Interjection

    amen

    1. amen

    Descendants

    Old Tupi

    Noun

    amen

    1. Lamy spelling of amana

    Polabian

    Etymology

    Borrowed from German amen, from Latin āmēn, from Koine Greek ᾱ̓μήν (āmḗn, so be it), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn).

    Interjection

    amen

    1. (religion) amen! (at the end of religious prayers)

    References

    • Lehr-Spławiński, T.; Polański, K. (1962), “amen”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka Drzewian połabskich [Etymological Dictionary of the Polabian Drevani Language] (in Polish), number 1 (A – ďüzd), Wrocław; Warszawa etc.: Ossolineum, page 18
    • Polański, Kazimierz; James Allen Sehnert (1967), “amen”, in Polabian-English Dictionary, The Hague, Paris: Mouton & Co, page 34
    • Olesch, Reinhold (1962), “Amen”, in Thesaurus Linguae Dravaenopolabicae [Thesaurus of the Drevani language] (in German), volumes 1: A – O, Cologne, Vienna: Böhlau Verlag, →ISBN, page 4

    Polish

    Etymology

      Learned borrowing from Ecclesiastical Latin āmēn.[1] First attested in 1513.[2]

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈa.mɛn/
      • Audio:(file)
      • Rhymes: -amɛn
      • Syllabification: a‧men

      Interjection

      amen

      1. (religion) amen! (at the end of religious prayers) [16th c.][2]
      2. (sometimes humorous) amen! (used to end a statement) [16th c.][2]

      Derived terms

      adverb

      References

      1. ^ Witold Doroszewski, editor (1958–1969), “amen”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), Warszawa: PWN
      2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Maria Renata Mayenowa; Stanisław Rospond; Witold Taszycki; Stefan Hrabec; Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023), “amen”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]

      Further reading

      Portuguese

      Interjection

      amen

      1. obsolete spelling of amém

      Further reading

      Romani

      Alternative forms

      Etymology

      Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀅𑀫𑁆𑀳𑁂 (amhe),[1] from Sanskrit अस्मान् (asmān),[1][2] from Proto-Indo-European *n̥smé. Cognate with Gujarati અમે (ame), Marwari अमै (amai).

      Pronoun

      amen

      1. we, us[1][3]

      See also

      Romani personal pronouns
      number person nominative accusative dative locative ablative instrumental possessive
      singular first me man manqe manθe manθar mança miro, -i, -e
      second tu tut tuqe tuθe tuθar tuça tiro, -i, -e
      reflexive third pes pesqe pesθe pesθar peça pesqero, -i, -e
      third m ov les lesqe lesθe lesθar leça lesqero, -i, -e
      f oj la laqe laθe laθar laça laqero, -i, -e
      plural first amen amenqe amenθe amenθar amença amaro, -i, -e
      second tumen tumenqe tumenθe tumenθar tumença tumaro, -i, -e
      reflexive third pen penqe penθe penθar pença penqero, -i, -e
      third on len lenqe lenθe lenθar lença lenqero, -i, -e

      Kalderash Romani personal pronouns
      number person nominative accusative (long and short forms) dative locative ablative instrumental possessive
      singular first me man, ma mánge mánde mándar mánsa múrro, -i, -e
      second tu tut, tu túke túte tútar túsa tíro, -i, -e
      reflexive third pês, pe pêske pêste pêstar pêsa pêsko, -i, -e
      third m wo lês, le lêske lêste lêstar lêsa lêsko, -i, -e
      f woi la, la láke láte látar lása láko, -i, -e
      plural first ame amên, ame amênge amênde amêndar amênsa amáro, -i, -e
      second tume tumên, tume tumênge tumênde tumêndar tumênsa tumáro, -i, -e
      reflexive third pên, pe pênge pênde pêndar pênsa pêngo, -i, -e
      third won lên, le lênge lênde lêndar lênsa lêngo, -i, -e

      References

      1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Boretzky, Norbert; Igla, Birgit (1994), “amén”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 6a
      2. ^ Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), “asmad”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 43
      3. ^ Marcel Courthiade (2009), “amen”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (overall work in Hungarian and English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 60a

      Spanish

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈamen/ [ˈa.mẽn]
      • Rhymes: -amen
      • Syllabification: a‧men

      Verb

      amen

      1. inflection of amar:
        1. third-person plural present subjunctive
        2. third-person plural imperative

      Swedish

      Interjection

      amen

      1. amen (at the end of religious prayers)

      References

      Tagalog

      Etymology 1

      Borrowed from Spanish amén, from Ecclesiastical Latin āmēn, from Ancient Greek ἀμήν (amḗn), from Biblical Hebrew אָמֵן (ʾāmēn, certainly, truly).

      Pronunciation

      • (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ʔaˈmen/ [ʔɐˈmɛn̪], /ˈʔamen/ [ˈʔaː.mɛn̪]
      • Rhymes: -en, -amen
      • Syllabification: a‧men

      Interjection

      amén or amen (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜋᜒᜈ᜔)

      1. amen (at the end of religious prayers: so be it)
        Synonym: siya nawa

      Noun

      amén or amen (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜋᜒᜈ᜔)

      1. hand-kissing of one's elders (as a sign of respect)
        Synonyms: mano, pagmano, pagmamano
      2. saying of yes to everything that another says
      Derived terms
      • pag-amen
      • tagaamen
      • umamen

      Etymology 2

      Pronunciation

      • (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈʔamen/ [ˈʔaː.mɛn̪]
      • Rhymes: -amen
      • Syllabification: a‧men

      Determiner

      amen (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜋᜒᜈ᜔) (colloquial)

      1. alternative form of amin

      Pronoun

      amen (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜋᜒᜈ᜔) (colloquial)

      1. alternative form of amin

      Etymology 3

      Pronunciation

      • (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈʔamen/ [ˈʔaː.mɛn̪]
      • Rhymes: -amen
      • Syllabification: a‧men

      Noun

      amen (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜋᜒᜈ᜔) (colloquial)

      1. alternative form of amin

      Further reading

      • amen”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018
      • Cuadrado Muñiz, Adolfo (1972), Hispanismos en el tagalo: diccionario de vocablos de origen español vigentes en esta lengua filipina, Madrid: Oficina de Educación Iberoamericana, page 29

      Vietnamese

      Etymology

      From French amen.

      Pronunciation

      • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔaː˧˧ mɛn˧˧]
      • (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔaː˧˧ mɛŋ˧˧]
      • (Saigon) IPA(key): [ʔaː˧˧ mɛŋ˧˧]
      • Phonetic spelling: a men

      Interjection

      amen

      1. amen