b ḥ r
28 lemmas · 9 languages
soundAll three consonants are regular📜 Exod.14.7
Themes:sea· بَحْر · יָם·8become·5chosen·3test·2trial·2
POS shape:noun·19verb·7name·1adj·1
This root is attested across 9 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
*b-ḥ-rProto-Semitic
West Semitic
Central Semitic
Northwest Semitic
Canaanite
Hebrewבָּחַרב ח ר— to choose, to opt, to select.
Aramaic
Syriacܒܚܪܐܒ ܚ ܪ— scrutinizer, researcher
Assyrian NAܒܘܼܚܪܵܢܵܐܒ ܚ ܪ— test, trial, proving, visitation
Turoyoܒܚܪܐܒ ܚ ܪ— sea
Arabic
Arabicبَحْرب ح ر— verbal noun of بَحَرَ (baḥara) (form I)
South Semitic
Old South Arabian
OSA𐩨𐩢𐩧𐩨 𐩢 𐩧— sea
Ethio-Semitic
Ge'ezባሕርበ ሐ ረ— sea, large lake
Amharicባሕርበ ሐ ረ— sea
Tigrinyaባሕሪበ ሐ ረ— sea
Branch structure: Huehnergard (2005), Rubin (2010). The reconstructed Proto-Semitic form is computed on the fly from the cognate set's majority reflex pattern.
Old South Arabian
irregular reflexosa · 1 lemma- sea
Classical Syriac
syc · 2 lemmas- scrutinizer, researcher
- test, trial, proving, visitationFrom the root ܒ ܚ ܪ, related to examining; compare Arabic بُحْرَان (buḥrān).
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
aii · 2 lemmas- test, trial, proving, visitationOf the noun pattern 1u23ānā, from the verb ܒܵܚܹܪ (bāḥēr). Learned borrowing from Classical Syriac [Term?] and calque of Ancient Greek κρίσις (krísis); compare Arabic بُحْرَان (buḥrān).
▸ 1 derivation
- derivedܟܘܼܪ ܒܘܼܚܪܵܢܵܐkūr buḥrānā
- Bahrain (an archipelago, island, and country in West Asia in the Persian Gulf)Borrowed from Arabic الْبَحْرَيْن (al-baḥrayn).
Hebrew
he · 8 lemmas- to choose, to opt, to select.
- guy, boyFrom בחר (“chose, select”), hence literally "chosen" or "selected".
▸ 2 derivations
- derivedבחור ישיבה
- relatedילדyéled
- to be chosen, to be selectedFrom the root ב־ח־ר (b-ḥ-r). The adjective and the noun follow from the verb.
- chosen, electedFrom the root ב־ח־ר (b-ḥ-r). The adjective and the noun follow from the verb.
- a representative, a chosen or elected person (one who speaks for another)From the root ב־ח־ר (b-ḥ-r). The adjective and the noun follow from the verb.
- girl, gal (as a female adult, not a female child), bird (in British English) - i.e: a particular woman, which is often an object of affection. As opposed to English, this is not usually very derogatory, though often saying בת or אישה is preferred.
- choice
▸ 1 derivation
- relatedהַחְלָטָהhakhlatá
- adolescence
Arabic
ar · 8 lemmas- verbal noun of بَحَرَ (baḥara) (form I)From Proto-West Semitic *baḥr- (“sea”).
▸ 2 derivations
- derivedأَمِير الْبَحْرʔamīr al-baḥr
- derivedمِنَ النَّهْرِ إلَى الْبَحْرِmina n-nahri ʔilā l-baḥri
- to sail, to travel by sea
- seaman, seafarer, sailorOccupational noun from the root ب ح ر (b ḥ r).
- to enlarge oneself, to become ample, to become abundant
- to enlarge oneself, to become spacious, to become ample, to become abundant
- open seaBorrowed from a Northwest Semitic language, most probably Aramaic ימא (yammā) or Hebrew יָם (yām).
- to travel by sea, to make a voyageDenominal verb from بَحْر (baḥr, “sea”).
Ge'ez
gez · 2 lemmas- sea, large lakeFrom Proto-West Semitic *baḥr- (“sea”). Cognate with Classical Syriac ܒܰܚܪܳܐ, Arabic بَحْرٌ (baḥrun). Brockelmann considers ባሕር a Kontrastbildung to ብሔር (bəḥer).
- place, location
Amharic
am · 3 lemmas- seaFrom Arabic بَحْر (baḥr, “sea”).
- birthplace, homeland, nation
- nationalism
Tigrinya
ti · 1 lemma- seaFrom Proto-West Semitic *baḥr-.
Turoyo
tru · 1 lemma- sea