Adam

From Middle English Adam, from Old English Adam, from Latin Adam, Adamus, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám), Ἄδαμος (Ádamos), from Biblical Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”), from אדמה (adamah, “red earth, ground”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈæd.əm/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• (General American, Canada, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈæd.əm/, [ˈæɾm̩], [ˈæɾəm]
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈɛd.əm/
• Rhymes: -ædəm
• Homophone: atom (t-flapping)
• Hyphenation: A‧dam

Adam (plural Adams)

2. (Abrahamism, religion) The first man and the progenitor of the human race.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 3:20:

     And Adam called his wiues name Eue, because she was the mother of all liuing.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 40–43:

     Say Goddeſs, what enſu'd when Raphael, / The affable Arch-angel, had forewarn'd / Adam by dire example to beware / Apoſtaſie,

4. A male given name from Hebrew.
   • 1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “The Workshop”, in Adam Bede […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book first, page 3:

     In his tall stalwartness Adam Bede was a Saxon, and justified his name; but the jet-black hair, made the more noticeable by its contrast with the light paper cap, and the keen glance of the dark eyes that shone from under strongly marked, proninent, and mobile eyebrows, indicated a mixture of Celtic blood.

   • 1904, Mark Twain, Extracts from Adam's Diary:

     Since then I have deciphered some more of Adam’s hieroglyphics, and think he has now become sufficiently important as a public character to justify this publication.

   • 1933, Eleanor Farjeon, “Boys' Names”, in Over the Garden Wall, Faber and Faber, page 90:

     What splendid names for boys there are! / There's Carol like a rolling car, / And Martin like a flying bird, / And Adam like the Lord's First Word,

   • 2023 June 21, Haley Talbot and Kristin Wilson, “House votes to censure Democratic congressman who led Trump investigations”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     The US House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to censure Rep. Adam Schiff, a key lawmaker in Democrats’ congressional investigations into former President Donald Trump during his presidency.

5. (figuratively) Original sin or human frailty.
6. (with second or last) Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice, in Christian theology, makes possible the forgiveness of Adam's original sin.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Corinthians 15:45:

     And so it is written: The first man Adam was made a liuing soule, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

   • 1739, Charles Wesley, Hark! the Herald Angels Sing:

     Second Adam from above,
     Reinstate us in thy love.

7. Designating a neoclassical style of furniture and architecture in the style of Robert and James Adam.
   • 1936, HP Lovecraft, The Haunter of the Dark:

     Inside were six-panelled doors, wide floor-boards, a curving colonial staircase, white Adam-period mantels, and a rear set of rooms three steps below the general level.

   • 2001, Norman K. Risjord, Representative Americans: The Revolutionary Generation, page 164:

     McIntyre's best pieces, such as the fireplace in the Otis house, managed to convey both an opulent warmth and a restrained elegance, and compares favorably with the artistic saturnalia of an Adam fireplace.

8. An English surname originating as a patronymic.
9. A Scottish surname originating as a patronymic.
10. A French surname originating as a patronymic.
11. A German surname originating as a patronymic.

• (English surname): Adams
• (Scottish surname): Adams, McAdam, McAdams, McCaw, MacAdam, MacAdams, MacCaw

• Tok Pisin: Adam

• Eve
• Wikipedia article on Adam and Eve
• Wikipedia article on original sin
• Edom
• Esau

• A.A.M.D., dama

From Latin Adam, Adamus, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám), Ἄδαμος (Ádamos), from Biblical Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”), from אדמה (adamah, “red earth, ground”).

Adam m (definite Adami)

1. a male given name, equivalent to English Adam
2. (religion, Christianity) Adam (biblical figure)
3. (religion, Islam) Adem (“Adam”)

• Adami m (patronym)
• Adamaj (patronym)

• Ademi m (patronym)
• Ademaj (patronym)

From Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [əˈðam]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [aˈðam]

Adam m

1. a male given name, equivalent to English Adam
2. Adam (biblical figure)

• adàmic
• adamita

• IPA^(key): /ˈædəm/

Adam

1. Adam (biblical figure)

Borrowed from Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈadam]

Adam m anim (diminutive Adámek or Damek or Áďa)

1. Adam (biblical figure)
2. a male given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English Adam

From Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Adam

1. Adam (biblical figure)
2. a male given name

From Middle Dutch Adam, from Latin Ādām, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám), from Hebrew אָדָם (“Adam”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈaː.dɑm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Adam

Adam m

1. Adam (Biblical character, mythological first man)
2. a male given name from Hebrew

• adamsappel
• adamskostuum

Ultimately from Biblical Hebrew אָדָם (adám, “man, human being”).

• IPA^(key): /á.dàm/, [á.d̪àm]

Ádàm

1. a male given name, equivalent to English Adam
2. (biblical, Abrahamism, religion) Adam

   Coordinate term: Xawa (“Eve”)

Borrowed from Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

• IPA^(key): /a.dɑ̃/

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France):

  (file)

Adam m

1. Adam (biblical figure)
2. a male given name; diminutive forms Adanet, Adenot, Adnet, Adnot

• ne connaître ni d'Ève ni d'Adam
• pomme d'Adam
• tenue d'Adam

• → Vietnamese: A-đam

• dama

Borrowed from Latin Adam, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám), from Hebrew אָדָם (ʾāḏām, “man, soil, light brown”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈaːdam/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adam m (proper noun, strong, genitive Adams)

1. (biblical) Adam
2. a male given name; variant form Adi

From Arabic آدَم (ʔādam).

• IPA^(key): /ʔá.dàm/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [ʔá.dàŋ]

Adàm m

1. Adam (biblical character)

• ɗan Adàm

Borrowed from Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Adam m (proper noun, genitive singular Adams)

1. Adam (biblical figure)
2. a male given name

• adamsepli
• Adam og Eva

• Eva

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
• Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “Adam”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
• Mörður Árnason (2019), Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið

• dama

Alteration of MDMA.

Adam m (invariable)

1. (informal) ecstasy (drug)

• dama

• Adóm, (Dialectal) Jadam

Borrowed from Polish Adam.

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.dam/
• Rhymes: -adam
• Syllabification: A‧dam

Adam m pers (related adjective adamów or adamòwi)

1. Adam (biblical figure)
2. a male given name, equivalent to English Adam

• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “Adam”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[2]

• Ādāmus

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám), borrowed from Hebrew אָדָם, from א־ד־ם.

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈaː.dãː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaː.d̪am]

Ādām m sg (indeclinable)

1. Adam (Biblical figure)
2. a male given name, equivalent to English Adam

Indeclinable noun, singular only.

• “Adam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Adam”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

From Latin Ādām.

Adam m

1. (Old Lombard) Adam (biblical character)

• Lombard: Adamm

Borrowed from Arabic آدم.

• IPA^(key): [a.dam]
• Rhymes: -dam, -am
• Hyphenation: A‧dam

Adam (Jawi spelling ادم)

2. (Abrahamism, religion) The first man and the progenitor of the human race.
3. a male given name from Arabic

• “Adam”, in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu [Malay Literary Reference Centre] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

From Sicilian Adamu, Addamu and/or Italian Adamo, both from Latin Ādāmus, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám), from Hebrew אָדָם (āḏām). All religious names (though not all religious words) in Maltese are borrowings from Romance. The inherited form from Arabic آدَم (ʔādam) would be *Iedem, which is preserved in bniedem (“human being”, literally “son of Adam”).

• IPA^(key): /aˈdaːm/

• Audio (Gozo):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːm

Adam m

1. Adam

From Old English Adam, from Latin Ādāmus, Ādām, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám), Ἄδαμος (Ádamos), from Biblical Hebrew אָדָם (adam).

• IPA^(key): /aˈdaːm/, /ˈadam/

Adam

1. Adam (Biblical progenitor of humankind).
2. a male given name from Hebrew; Adam
3. (with newe or last) Jesus Christ.

• English: Adam, Adams, Adams, McAdam, McAdams, McCaw, MacAdam, MacAdams, MacCaw
  • Tok Pisin: Adam
• Scots: Adam

• “Adā̆m, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 15 July 2019.

Learned borrowing from Latin Ādām, borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám), borrowed from Hebrew אָדָם, from א־ד־ם.

Adam m

1. a male given name
2. (Abrahamism, biblical) Adam

• Central Franconian:
  • Hunsrik: Aadem
• German: Adam

• Benecke, Georg Friedrich; Müller, Wilhelm; Zarncke, Friedrich (1863), “Adam”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel
• "Adam" in Köbler, Gerhard, Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch (3rd edition 2014)

From Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

Adam

1. Adam (biblical figure)
2. a male given name

Learned borrowing from Latin Ādām, borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám), borrowed from Hebrew אָדָם, from א־ד־ם.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.dɑm/

Adam m

1. Adam (Biblical character)

Strong a-stem:

• Middle English: Adam
  • English: Adam, Adams, Adams, McAdam, McAdams, McCaw, MacAdam, MacAdams, MacCaw
    • Tok Pisin: Adam
  • Scots: Adam

From Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.dam/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -adam
• Syllabification: A‧dam

Adam m pers (diminutive Adaś)

1. Adam (biblical figure)
2. a male given name, equivalent to English Adam

• Adam in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic Адамъ (Adamŭ).

• Audio:

  (file)

Adam m

1. a male given name
2. a surname
3. a village in Drăgușeni, Galați County, Romania

From Middle English Adam, from Latin Ādāmus, Ādām, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ (Adám).

Adam

1. Adam (biblical figure)

• “Adam, prop.n.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

From Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

• IPA^(key): /ǎdam/
• Hyphenation: A‧dam

Àdam m anim (Cyrillic spelling А̀дам)

1. Adam (biblical figure)
2. a male given name

• Adem

• “Adam”, in Portal suvremenih hrvatskih osobnih imena [Portal of contemporary Croatian personal names] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2018–2025

• IPA^(key): [ˈadam]

Adam m pers

1. Adam (biblical figure)
2. a male given name

• Aduš
• Ado
• Adamko
• Adko

• “Adam”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

• IPA^(key): /aˈdam/ [aˈð̞ãm]
• Rhymes: -am
• Syllabification: A‧dam

Adam m

1. archaic form of Adán (“biblical figure”)
   • 1602, La Santa Biblia (antigua versión de Casiodoro de Reina), Génesis 2:20:

     Y puso Adam nombres á toda bestia y ave de los cielos y á todoanimal del campo.

     And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; […] (KJV)

From Hebrew אָדָם (adam, “earth, man, soil, light brown”).

• Audio:

  (file)

Adam

1. The letter "A" in the Swedish spelling alphabet

Adam c (genitive Adams)

1. Adam (biblical figure)
2. a male given name; diminutive form Adde

• Adam in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

From English Adam.

Adam

1. Adam
   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 2:20:

     Tasol i no gat wanpela bilong ol dispela samting inap i stap poroman bilong helpim Adam.

     →New International Version translation

From Arabic آدَم (ʔādam).

Adam

1. a male given name from Arabic, less common variant of Adem

• Adan

• IPA^(key): /a.ˈdam/

Adam

1. (biblical) Adam
2. a male given name, equivalent to English Adam