1,443. All of Our Vocabulary Terms to Date

Hilchos Ishus 2:26

The words “cheiresh” and “cheireshes” refer, respectively, to a male and a female with congenital deafness, who can neither hear nor speak. If a person can speak but not hear, or vice versa, (s)he is not considered a cheiresh(es). A man or a woman who is mentally competent, being neither a cheiresh(es) nor a shoteh (lacking full mental faculties), is called a pikeiach or a pikachas, respectively.

Hilchos Ishus 2:27

Twenty terms have been defined over the course of the past two chapters: kiddushin (marriage), ervah (prohibited relationship), shniyah (secondary relationship), issurei lavin (relationships forbidden by a prohibition), issurei asei (relationships forbidden by a positive mitzvah), ketana (a girl under 12), naarah (a girl in the six-month period after displaying the signs of maturity), bogeres (a mature female), ailonis (a congenitally infertile woman), gedolah (an adult woman), lower signs, upper signs, katan (a minor boy), s'ris chama (a congenitally infertile male), s'ris adam (a eunuch), gadol (an adult male), androginos (one with both sets of genitals), tumtum (one whose genitals are obscured), cheirshim (those with congenital deafness) and pikchim (those with mental competence). These terms should be committed to memory because they will not be explained every time they are used. [This is the Rambam’s note; we will use the English in most instances.]