š m n
19 lemmas · 8 languages
soundAll three consonants are regularT Gen.28.18
Themes:fat·3oil· زَيْت · שֶׁמֶן·3weight·2eight· ثَمَانِيَة · שְׁמוֹנֶה·2
POS shape:noun·9verb·4numeral·2num·2adj·2
This root is attested across 8 Semitic languages in our index. Each section below shows representative lemmas; attested means a Wiktionary editor explicitly tagged the root, inferredmeans we derived it mechanically from the word's consonantal skeleton.
Etymology treehow this root diverged from Proto-Semitic through the family
*š-m-nProto-Semitic
West Semitic
Central Semitic
Northwest Semitic
Ugaritic𐎌𐎎𐎐𐎌 𐎎 𐎐— fat, oil
Canaanite
Hebrewשֻׁמַּןשׁ מ ן— to be oiled, to be lubricated
Phoenician𐤔𐤌𐤍𐤔 𐤌 𐤍
Aramaic
Imperial Aramaicשמןש מ נ— to ripen, to mature
Syriacܫܘܡܢܐܫ ܡ ܢ— fat, fatness, plumpness, bulk
Arabic
Arabicشَمَنْدَرش م ن— beet (Beta vulgaris)
South Semitic
Ethio-Semitic
Amharicሽንት፡ቤትש מ נ— toilet, lavatory
Tigrinyaሸሞንተሸ መ ነ— eight
Branch structure: Huehnergard (2005), Rubin (2010). The reconstructed Proto-Semitic form is computed on the fly from the cognate set's majority reflex pattern.
Ugaritic
irregular reflexug · 1 lemma- fat, oilFrom Proto-Semitic *šamn-.
Phoenician
irregular reflexphn · 2 lemmasImperial Aramaic
arc · 1 lemma- to ripen, to mature
Classical Syriac
syc · 2 lemmas- fat, fatness, plumpness, bulkCompare Arabic سَمْن (samn) and Hebrew שֶׁמֶן (šémen).
- small coin: penny, quadrans, farthing, obolus
Hebrew
he · 8 lemmas- to be oiled, to be lubricated
- to oil, lubricate with oil
- Cream: the oily part of milk that rises to the top.Modern derivation from the root ש־מ־ן (sh-m-n) (compare שמן (shémen, “oil”), שומן (shumán, “fat”)); possibly formed under the influence of Yiddish שמאַנט (shmant). For the Semitic root compare Akkadian 𒉌𒄑 (šamnu, Ì.GIŠ, “oil”), Arabic سَمْن (samn, “ghee”), Ugaritic 𐎌𐎎𐎐 (šmn, “oil”).
▸ 3 derivations
- derivedגְּבִינַת שַׁמֶּנֶתg'vinát shaménet
- derivedשמנת חמוצהshaménet khamutzá
- derivedשמנת מתוקהshaménet m'tuká
- to gain weight, to get fat
- oiling, lubrication
- eightFrom Proto-Semitic *ṯamāniy-.
- eighth
- chubbyA diminutive form of שָׁמֵן (shamén, “fat”), formed by reduplication.
Arabic
ar · 3 lemmas- beet (Beta vulgaris)Disputed etymology:
- a weight measure of 0.585 g, ¹⁄₄ of a بَاقِلَة (bāqila)Borrowed from Classical Syriac ܫܡܘܢܐ (šāmōnā).
- buoyFrom Ottoman Turkish شماندوره (şamandura).
Amharic
am · 1 lemma- toilet, lavatoryFrom ሽንት (šənt, “piss, urine”) + ቤት (bet, “house”).
Tigrinya
ti · 1 lemma- eightFrom Proto-Semitic *ṯamāniy-. Cognates include Ge'ez ሰማንቱ (sämantu), Amharic ስምንት (səmnət) and Tigre ሰማን (säman).