From Frozen Manna to Modern Dessert: The Chilly Origins of גלידה

Is the Hebrew word גלידה connected to the Italian gelato? It certainly sounds similar—but the real story starts not in Rome, but in the Aramaic translation of the Bible.

In שמות ט"ז:י"ד, the Torah describes the מן (manna) that the Israelites ate in the desert as “דַּק כַּכְּפֹר עַל הָאָרֶץ”—“thin as frost on the ground.” In the ancient Aramaic translation by אונקלוס, this becomes “כגלידא על ארעא.” In other words, גלידא meant ice.

Centuries later, אליעזר בן־יהודה took this frosty Aramaic word and repurposed it in his dictionary to describe a modern delicacy:

“יקראו בא״י המדברים עברית ממתק עשוי מסוכר וביצים ונקפא וקר כגליד.”

That is, גלידה is a frozen treat made from sugar and eggs—cold as frost.And while it's probably no coincidence that גלידה sounds a lot like gelato, its Hebrew roots run deep.

(And just a note: even though many pronounce it as GLIda [מלעיל], the correct Hebrew pronunciation is gliDA [מלרע]—just like גבינה.)

When One Man Rebuilt a Language—and Invented Ice Cream

Eliezer Ben Yehudah devoted over 40 years of his life to reviving Hebrew as a spoken language. For more than 1,500 years, Hebrew hadn’t been used in daily life—it lived only in prayer books and ancient texts. So when modern Jews began returning to ארץ ישראל in the late 19th century, they needed new words for everything from politics to plumbing.

Ben-Yehuda made it his life’s mission to fill in the gaps.

Sometimes he gave new meanings to old words. Other times he dug up forgotten gems from Jewish texts and repurposed them. And sometimes, he borrowed roots from Arabic and reshaped them into Hebrew-style constructions.

The result? Hundreds of new words—many of which you use every single day.

🍳 Foods: גלידה, חביתה, נקניק, ריבה🧠 Traits & Emotions: אדיבות, אדישות, אהדה, גמישות, גנדרנות, עקיבות, קיצוניות, רצינות🎨 Colors: אפור, ורוד👩‍🏫 Professions: דייל (back then: waiter!), גננת, חייל🧤 Clothing: חזייה, כפפה🔧 Tools & Devices: משאבה, מקולית (גרמופון), מגהץ, מפוחית, מקלע🦠 Diseases: אדמת, שפעת, שנית🏛 Governance: מעצמה, וזיר, מורשון, עירייה

He marked all his new coinages with a special sign in his מילון העברית הישנה והחדשה. And while most of his inventions caught on, some didn’t stand the test of time—like:

🧪 אבחמץ and אבחנק (for חמצן and חנקן)🦀 אכלת (for סרטן)📸 צייר־אור (for צלם)📦 הרם (for פירמידה)🥛 זִבְדָּה (for שמנת)🧠 תאבדעי (for סקרן)

(Imagine asking for זבדה in your coffee.)

But whether or not every word survived, בן־יהודה’s vision absolutely did. Thanks to him, we have a living, breathing Hebrew—able to talk about politics, science, feelings… and yes, even ice cream. Because sometimes, building a modern language starts with dessert.