1. [n]  the ancient Canaanitic language of the Hebrews that has been revived as the official language of Israel
2. [n]  a person belonging to the worldwide group claiming descent from Jacob (or converted to it) and connected by cultural or religious ties
3. [adj]  of or relating to the language of the Hebrews; "Hebrew vowels"
4. [adj]  of or relating to or characteristic of the Hebrews; "the old Hebrew prophets"

Hebrew
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1. \He"brew\, n. [F. H['e]breu, L. Hebraeus, Gr. ?, fr. Heb.
   'ibhr[=i].]
   1. An appellative of Abraham or of one of his descendants,
      esp. in the line of Jacob; an Israelite; a Jew.
            There came one that had escaped and told Abram the
            Hebrew.                               --Gen. xiv.
                                                  13.
   2. The language of the Hebrews; -- one of the Semitic family
      of languages.
   

2. \He"brew\, a.
   Of or pertaining to the Hebrews; as, the Hebrew language or
   rites.
   

a name applied to the Israelites in Scripture only by one who is a foreigner (Gen. 39:14, 17; 41:12, etc.), or by the Israelites when they speak of themselves to foreigners (40:15; Ex. 1:19), or when spoken of an contrasted with other peoples (Gen. 43:32; Ex. 1:3, 7, 15; Deut. 15:12). In the New Testament there is the same contrast between Hebrews and foreigners (Acts 6:1; Phil. 3:5).

Derivation. (1.) The name is derived, according to some, from Eber (Gen. 10:24), the ancestor of Abraham. The Hebrews are "sons of Eber" (10:21).

(2.) Others trace the name of a Hebrew root-word signifying "to pass over," and hence regard it as meaning "the man who passed over," viz., the Euphrates; or to the Hebrew word meaning "the region" or "country beyond," viz., the land of Chaldea. This latter view is preferred. It is the more probable origin of the designation given to Abraham coming among the Canaanites as a man from beyond the Euphrates (Gen. 14:13).

(3.) A third derivation of the word has been suggested, viz., that it is from the Hebrew word _'abhar_, "to pass over," whence _'ebher_, in the sense of a "sojourner" or "passer through" as distinct from a "settler" in the land, and thus applies to the condition of Abraham (Heb. 11:13).