Gaon (Hebrew: גאון, gā'ōn, lit. 'pride', plural geonim, גְּאוֹנִים, gĕ'ōnīm) was originally a formal title for the Geonim, heads of Talmudic academies in the 6th-11th century. Since the rishonic period, many great rabbis,[1] whether or not they head academies, are often lauded with this honorific as a mark of respect; for example, one may refer to Ovadia Yosef as "HaGaon Ovadia Yosef".[citation needed] Modern Hebrew reuses the word as an equivalent for "genius" based on phonetic similarity.
- ^ "ידיד נפשי המנוח הדגול, שייף עייל שייף נפיק, הגאון הגדול רבי יוסף קאפח זצ"ל." — Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in the Hebrew responsa book שו"ת הריב"ד קאפח, quoted in עלון אור ההליכות גליון חודש תמוז התשס"ט (page 3).