how to say “pioneer” in Hebrew

 

חָלוּץ

 

 
Modern Hebrew finds its roots in Biblical, though as time has progressed, words have taken on meanings that depart from their original usage, to varying degrees. The essential meaning found in the root, however, tends to remain the same.
 
One such example is the word חָלוּץ listen and repeat. In Biblical Hebrew, this word means one equipped for war. The word’s meaning in Modern Hebrew is more benign: it means pioneer, the one who goes first in a great venture
 
What do the Biblical warrior and the modern-day pioneer have in common? The root of חלוץ is ח.ל.צ (kh.l.ts), meaning strength and vigor – exactly the virtues needed for both types of חֲלוּצִים listen and repeat.
 
The word in a Modern-Hebrew example:
 
הַחֲלוּצִים בָּנוּ אֶת הַתַּשְׁתִּיוֹת שֶׁל מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל.
The pioneers built the foundations of the State of Israel.

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