Reply To: Why does Yiddish butcher Hebrew

Ari Knobler, it does not take a Master’s degree. In פרשת חיי שרה, the עם הארץ are the leaders of the community (see also Vayikra 20,4). Ezra (9,1) refers to them as the general non-Jewish public. By the Tannaitic period, it became an expression of contempt for lowlifes and criminals (Pesachim 49b). Later, it could even be applied to a knowledgeable, upright person who did not advance to the top rung (Berachot 47b).

Similarly, a גבאי was usually a collector, usually of tzedaka (in Modern Hebrew too, לגבות means “to collect”). The חזן was the man in charge of the day-to-day activities of the shul as he had to foresee (לחזות) its needs.