geonim

noun Hebrew.

1. a plural of Gaon.

noun, plural Ge·o·nim [Sephardic Hebrew ge-aw-neem; Ashkenazic Hebrew gey-oh-nim] /Sephardic Hebrew gɛ ɔˈnim; Ashkenazic Hebrew geɪˈoʊ nɪm/, English Ga·ons.

1. a title of honor for the directors of the Jewish academies at Sura and Pumbedita in Babylonia, used from the end of the 6th century a.d. to about the beginning of the 11th century.
2. an eminent Jewish scholar noted for wisdom and knowledge of the Talmud: the Gaon of Vilna.