Aleichem

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Used as a greeting or salutation meaning "peace be upon you" ; may refer to the traditional Jewish phrase offered in meeting or parting ; can also serve as a reference to the Yiddish author Sholem Aleichem, whose pen name means the same phrase
2. Expresses a wish for peace upon another, either in spoken greeting or farewell ; found in Hebrew and Jewish contexts as a welcoming phrase ; denotes the famed Jewish writer whose pseudonym embodies this greeting
3. Functions as a traditional expression offering peace, often spoken among Jews in religious or social contexts ; forms the basis of a well-known writer's name symbolizing the same sentiment ; used both in phrase and as a personal moniker

Etymology: "Aleichem" is the second half of the greeting "shalom aleichem," which is Hebrew for "peace be upon you." The phrase is a set expression from Hebrew and Aramaic: "shalom" means peace, and "aleichem" combines the preposition "al," meaning "upon" or "over," with the pronoun suffix "-chem," meaning "you" (plural). Because the elements were so often said together, the second word is rarely heard alone. The response has a clear Jewish origin in the Hebrew Bible and later Jewish usage, and it passed into English as a loan from Yiddish, where the greeting is also common. Its most famous English-speaking echo comes from the reply "aleichem shalom," or "upon you peace," which the greeting itself is structured to receive. In that exchange the two phrases mirror each other, so the word is part of a call and response rather than a one-way salutation.