Etymology
Adam (Hebrew: אָדָם, Arabic: آدم) in Biblical (as well as modern) Hebrew is sometimes used as the personal name of an individual and at other times in a generic sense meaning "mankind", in the same way as the earlier Canaanite 'adam. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, its use in Genesis 1 is generic, while in Genesis 2 and Genesis 3 the generic and personal usages are mixed.
The usage of the word as personal pre-dates the generic usage. Its root is not the standard Semitic root for "man" which is instead '-(n)-sh but is attested as a personal name in the Assyrian King List in the form Adamu showing that it was a genuine name from the early history of the Near East. The generic usage in Genesis meaning "mankind" reflects the view that Adam was the ancestor of all men.
In 19th century scholarship, "Adam" (Hebrew: אָדָֿם) was linked with the triliteral root אָדַֿם ( 'ADM ), meaning "red", "fair", "handsome". In the Book of Genesis, Adam occurs as a proper name in chapters 2-5. As a masculine noun, 'adam means "man", "mankind" usually in a collective context as in humankind, and may also refer to the individual human. The noun 'adam is also the masculine form of the word adamah which means "ground" or "earth". It is related to the words: adom (red), admoni (ruddy), and dam (blood).
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“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
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