1510: Why Bar Mitzvah not Ben Mitzvah Jan 30, 2019

Although it is usually translated as 'son of the commandment' the term 'bar mitzvah' (בר מצוה)—the term for a Jewish boy's coming of age ritual—does not use the Hebrew word for son, 'ben' (בן), as found also in names like 'benjamin'. This is furthermore in contrast with 'bat (or bas) mitzvah' (בת מצוה)—the equivalent for girls—which does use the Hebrew for 'daughter'. Instead, the word comes from an Aramaic word that originally meant 'outside', but later in Hebrew began to mean 'ability', i.e. in this case "someone who is able to fulfill commandments".

For more on Hebrew's influence on Hebrew, watch this.