# גר
## Hebrew
### Alternative forms

* גֵּיר (excessive spelling)

### Etymology 1

The noun is derived from the verb and not from the root ג־י־ר (g-y-r), which is of Aramaic origin.

#### Adjective

גֵּר • (gér) (feminine גֵּרָה, masculine plural גֵּרים)
* (biology) adventitious

#### Noun

גֵּר • (gér) m (plural indefinite גֵּרִים, feminine counterpart גיורת / גִּיֹּרֶת or גֵּרָה)
* foreigner, stranger: one who sojourns in a foreign place
** Tanach, Exodus 22:20, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:וְגֵר לֹא־תוֹנֶה וְלֹא תִלְחָצֶנּוּ כִּי־גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם׃V-gér lo toné v-lo tilḥatsénu ki gerím heyitém b-éretz Mitzráyim.And a stranger shalt thou not wrong, neither shalt thou oppress him; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
** Tanach, Psalms 119:19, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:גֵּר אָנֹכִי בָאָרֶץ אַל־תַּסְתֵּר מִמֶּנִּי מִצְוֺתֶיךָ׃Ger anokhí va-áretz; al tastér miméni mitsvotékha.I am a sojourner in the earth; hide not Thy commandments from me.
* (Judaism) convert to Judaism, proselyte
** a. 217 C.E., Mishnah, Pesachim 8:8:גֵּר שֶׁנִּתְגַּיֵּר בְּעֶרֶב פֶּסַח, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, טוֹבֵל וְאוֹכֵל אֶת פִּסְחוֹ לָעֶרֶב. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, הַפּוֹרֵשׁ מִן הָעׇרְלָה כְּפוֹרֵשׁ מִן הַקֶּבֶר:Ger she-nitgayyér b-'érev Pésaḥ, beit Shammái omrím, ṭovél v-okhél et pisḥó la-árev. U-veit Hillél omrím, ha-porésh min ha-'orlá k-porésh min ha-kéver.A convert who converted on the day before the Pesaḥ offering, the house of Shammai says, he bathes and eats his Pesaḥ offering that evening. And the house of Hillel says, one who has just separated from the foreskin is like one who has just separated from the grave.
** a. 500 C.E., Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot 47a:תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן גֵּר שֶׁבָּא לְהִתְגַּיֵּר בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה אוֹמְרִים לוֹ מָה רָאִיתָ שֶׁבָּאתָ לְהִתְגַּיֵּרTanú rabanán: Ger she-ba l'hitgayér ba-zman ha-zeh, omrím lo: ma ra'íta she-báta l'hitgayér?The rabbis taught: A proselyte who comes to convert in this era, they say to him, what do you see that you want to convert?

##### Synonyms

* גֵּר תּוֹשָׁב (ger tosháv) (1)
* גֵּר צֶדֶק (ger tzédeq) (2)

##### Related terms

* גִּיּוּר (giyúr, “conversion to Judaism”)
* גֵּרוּת (gerút, “conversion to Judaism”)
* התגייר / הִתְגַּיֵּר (hitgayér, “to convert to Judaism”)

##### Descendants

* → Yiddish: גר (ger)

#### Verb

גָּר • (gar) (pa'al construction)
* to dwell, reside, live
** Tanach, Ruth 1:1, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:וַיְהִי בִּימֵי שְׁפֹט הַשֹּׁפְטִים וַיְהִי רָעָב בָּאָרֶץ וַיֵּלֶךְ אִישׁ מִבֵּית לֶחֶם יְהוּדָה לָגוּר בִּשְׂדֵי מוֹאָב הוּא וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וּשְׁנֵי בָנָיו׃Va-yhí bi-yméi sh'fóṭ ha-shofṭím va-yhí ra'áv ba-árets va-yélekh ish mi-beit léḥem y'hudá lagúr bi-sdéi moáv hu v-ishtó u-shnei vanáv.AND IT came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem in Judah went to sojourn in the field of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
** a. 500 C.E., Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot 96b:וְכִי אֶפְשָׁר לוֹ לָאָדָם לָגוּר בִּשְׁנֵי עוֹלָמִיםV-khi efshár lo la-adám lagúr bi-shnei olamím?And is it possible for a man to dwell in two worlds?
** 2022 December 4, Shilo Freid, “עוה״ד של החשוד בהצתה לנפגע הטרור: "אם לא היית גר שם לא היו בעיות"‏ [Lawyer of the arson suspect to the victim of terrorism: ‘Had you not lived there, there wouldn’t have been any problems’]”, in Makor Rishon‎:עורך הדין פנה לטל ישובייב ואמר: ״אם לא היית גר שם לא היו בעיות״‏Orékh hadín paná leTál Yeshuvayév ve'amár: “Ím ló hayíta gár shám ló hayú be'ayót.”The lawyer turned to Tal Yeshuvayev and said: “Had you not lived there, there wouldn’t have been any problems.’

##### Conjugation

$^1$ Rare in Modern Hebrew.

#### References

* H1616 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* Klein, Ernest (1987) “גֵּר”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎, Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 107
* “גר” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language
* H1481 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* Klein, Ernest (1987) “גור”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎, Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 95

### Etymology 2
#### Verb

גָּר • (gɔr, gár) (pa'al construction) (Biblical Hebrew, hapax)
* to assail
** Tanach, Psalms 59:4, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:כִּי הִנֵּה אָרְבוּ לְנַפְשִׁי יָגוּרוּ עָלַי עַזִּים לֹא־פִשְׁעִי וְלֹא־חַטָּאתִי יהוה׃ki hinne ʔɔrəḇu ləʔ‐nap̄əši yɔḡuru ʕɔlay ʕazzim loʔ‐p̄išəʕi və‐loʔ‐ḥaṭṭɔʔṯi YHWHFor see, they lie in wait for me; fierce men plot against me for no offense of mine, for no transgression, O LORD.

##### Usage notes

Owing to its rarity, this word is variously translated. The King James Bible interprets it as “to be gathered”, in a secondary sense of #Etymology 1.

##### Conjugation

$^1$ Rare in Modern Hebrew.

#### References

* H1481 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* Klein, Ernest (1987) “גור ᴵᴵᴵ”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎, Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 95

### Etymology 3
#### Noun

גִּר • (gir) m (plural indefinite גִּרִים, singular construct גִּר־, plural construct גִּרֵי־)
* defective spelling of גיר (“chalk, lime”)