targum

/tɑɹˈɡuːm//ˈtɑːɡəm/

targum noun: an Aramaic translation of the Tanakh written or compiled between the Second Temple period and the early Middle Ages.

Noun (1)

targum (plural targums or targumim)

(Judaism) An Aramaic translation of the Tanakh written or compiled between the Second Temple period and the early Middle Ages.
- Jonathan who compiled the Thargum, conceives the colours of these banners to answer the pretious stones in the breastplate, and upon which the names of the Tribes were engraven.1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, V.10
- Eventually, the words of such Aramaic whisper-translations (called chuchotage in the modern world of international interpreters) were written down, mostly in small fragments, and these targums now provide precious linguistic and historical records for scholars of Judaism.2011, David Bellos, Is That a Fish in Your Ear?, Penguin, published 2012, page 141

Targum (plural Targums or Targumim)

From Hebrew תַּרְגּוּם (targúm, “translation”).

What does targum mean?: Targum means an Aramaic translation of the Tanakh written or compiled between the Second Temple period and the early Middle Ages.
What part of speech is targum?: Targum is a noun.
How do you pronounce targum?: Targum is pronounced /ˈtɑːɡəm/ (UK).
What is the plural of targum?: The plural of targum is targums.

Adapted from Wiktionary: targum (page history and authors); Targum (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-targum.wav.

Cite this entry: “targum.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/targum. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.