ETYM Latin, from Greek rabbi, Hebrew rabî my master, from rab master, lord, teacher, akin to Arabic rabb.
Spiritual leader of a Jewish congregation; qualified to expound and apply the halakhah and other Jewish law.
In Judaism, the chief religious leader of a synagogue or the spiritual leader (not a hereditary high priest) of a Jewish congregation; also, a scholar of Judaic law and ritual from the 1st century AD.