Ab (Semitic)
Ab means "father" in most Semitic languages, sometimes extended to Abba or Aba.
Arabic
Abun, from a theoretical, abstract form abawun (triliteral '-b-w) is Arabic for "father. The dual is abawāni or abāni "two fathers" or "mother and father" (abai-ka meaning "thy parents"). The plural is abiyna (Sura 2:127 has abiyka "[the God] of thy fathers"). There is a diminutive ubā' , from original ubayūn.
li-llāhi abū-ka is an expression of praise, meaning "to God is attributable [the excellence of] your father".
As a verb, '-b-w means "to become [as] a father to [somebody]" (abawtu) or "to adopt [him] as a father" (ta'bā-hu or ista'bā-hu).
In the construct state, Abū is followed by another word to form a complete name, e.g.: Abu Mazen, another name for Mahmoud Abbas.
To refer to a man by his fatherhood (of male offspring) is polite, so that abū takes the function of a honorific, and the use of Abu to describe a man will cause his real name to fall into disuse. Even a man that is as yet childless may still be known as abū of his father's name, implying that he will yet have a son called after his father.
The combination is extended beyond the literal sense: a man may be described as acting as a father in his relation to animals, e. g., Abu Bekr, "the father of a camel's foal;" Abu Huraira, "father of kittens." In some cases, a man's enemies will refer to him in such a way to besmirch him, e.g. Abu Jahl, "the father of ignorace". A man may be described as being the possessor of some quality, as Abu'l Gadl, "father of grace," or "the graceful one;" Abu'l Fida, "father of devotion," or "the devout one." An object or a place may be given a nickname, such as Abu'l hawl, "father of terror," (the Sphinx at Giza). Abu'l fulus, "father of money," is frequently used to refer to a place where rumors have been told of a treasure being hidden there.
The Swahili word Bwana, meaning "mister," "sir," or "lord," is derived from the Arabic Abuna, "our father."
Aramaic
The Syriac or Chaldee version of the word is found three times in the New Testament (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6), and in each case is followed by its Greek equivalent, which is translated "father", see Abba in the New Testament. If the word "Father" is found in an authentic saying of Jesus, it can be safely assumed that it has been translated from an original Aramaic Abba.
The Aramaic term abba has passed via Greek and Latin into European languages as an ecclesiastical term, abbot.
Abba or Aba is the name of an important Rabbi in the Talmud. See the disambiguation page for other notable people whose name is Abba.
It is a common misconception and popular anecdote that abba meant "Daddy" in Aramaic, but there are no historical sources that testify to this.
Hebrew
The exact meaning of the element ab or abi in Hebrew personal names (such as Ab-ram, Ab-i-ram, Ah-ab, Jo-ab) is under dispute. The identity of the -i- with the first person pronominal suffix (as in Adona-i), changing "father" to "my father", is uncertain, it might also be simply a connecting vowel. The compound may either express a nominal phrase (Ab[i]ram = "[my] father is exalted") or simply an apposition (Ab[i]ram = "father of exaltedness"). Forms with the connecting vowel and with the pronominal suffix were likely confused, so that the translation will depend on what is meaningful in connection with the second element.
Most modern Israelis call their fathers Abba as one would use "Dad" or "Daddy" in English.
Ethiopian
From the use in the New Testament,[citation needed] Abba is also an Ethiopian (Ethiosemitic) title derived from ab ("father") used for some clergy men (sometimes, though rarely, substituted for Abuna, "our father.") Abbaa is an Oromo (Ethiopian Cushitic) title of respect meaning "father."
References
- Abba (jewishencyclopedia.com)
- Abi and Ab in personal names (jewishencyclopedia.com)
- Gray, Hebrew Proper Names, pp. 22-34, 75-86;
- Edward William Lane, Arabic English Lexicon, 1893