Gaon (, gā'ōn, lit. 'genius', plural geonim,, gĕ'ōnīm) may have originated as a shortened version of "Rosh Yeshivat Ge'on Ya'akov", although there are alternative explanations. In Ancient Hebrew, it referred to arrogance and haughty pride ( – "I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it.") and later became known as a general term for pride, both the positive and negative forms ('Pride [of]'; Late Medieval and Modern Hebrew for 'genius'). Today, it may refer to: One of the Geonim during the period 589–1040. Prominent Geonim include: A honorific title given to a few leading rabbis of other countries in the same period, such as: Specific rabbis of later periods, called "gaon": Many great rabbis, although not formally referred to as the "Gaon of ..." are often lauded with this honorific as both a mark of respect and a means to indicate their greatness in the field of Torah learning, for example, one may refer to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef as "HaGaon Rabbi Ovadia Yosef".