Gaon (Hebrew: גאון, gā'ōn,, plural geonim,, gĕ'ōnīm) may have originated as a shortened version of "Rosh Yeshivat Ge'on Ya'akov", although there are alternative explanations.[1] [2] In Ancient Hebrew, it referred to arrogance and haughty pride (6:8 – "I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it.") and later became known as a general term for pride, both the positive and negative forms ('Pride [of]'; Late Medieval and Modern Hebrew for 'genius'). Today, it may refer to:
One of the Geonim during the period 589–1040. Prominent Geonim include:
A honorific title given to a few leading rabbis of other countries in the same period, such as:
Specific rabbis of later periods, called "gaon":
Many great rabbis,[3] although not formally referred to as the "Gaon of ..." are often lauded with this honorific as both a mark of respect and a means to indicate their greatness in the field of Torah learning, for example, one may refer to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef as "HaGaon Rabbi Ovadia Yosef".