b r q
35 lemmas · 11 languages
soundAll three consonants are regular📜 Deut.32.41
Themes:lightning· بَرْق · בָּרָק·12flash· وَمْضَة · הֶבְזֵק·4gleam·2electricity·2telegram·2
POS shape:noun·18verb·10adj·4prep·1name·1intj·1
This root is attested across 11 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-rProto-Semitic
East Semitic
Akkadianbirqumb r q— lightning
West Semitic
Central Semitic
Northwest Semitic
Ugaritic𐎁𐎗𐎖𐎁 𐎗 𐎖— lightning
Canaanite
Hebrewבָּרָקב ר ק— lightning (atmospheric flash of light)
Aramaic
Imperial Aramaicברקב ר ק— to gleam, to flash
Syriacܒܪܩܐܒ ܪ ܩ— lightning
Assyrian NAܒܵܪܹܩܒ ܪ ܩ— to flash, gleam
Arabic
Arabicبَرَقَب ر ق— to produce lightning
South Semitic
Old South Arabian
OSA𐩨𐩧𐩤𐩨 𐩧 𐩤— lightning
Ethio-Semitic
Ge'ezበረቀበ ረ ቀ— to lightning
Amharicመብረቅበ ר ק— lightning
Tigrinyaምብራቕበ ረ ቐ— east
Branch structure: Huehnergard (2005), Rubin (2010). The reconstructed Proto-Semitic form is computed on the fly from the cognate set's majority reflex pattern.
Akkadian
akk · 1 lemma- lightningFrom Proto-Semitic *baraḳ- (“lightning”). Cognate with Arabic بَرْق (barq) or Biblical Hebrew בָּרָק (bɔrɔ́q).
Ugaritic
irregular reflexug · 1 lemma- lightningFrom Proto-Semitic *baraḳ-.
Old South Arabian
irregular reflexosa · 1 lemma- lightning
Imperial Aramaic
arc · 2 lemmas- to gleam, to flash
- lightningFrom Proto-Semitic *baraḳ-.
Classical Syriac
syc · 1 lemma- lightningFrom Proto-Semitic *baraḳ- (“lightning”); compare Arabic بَرْق (barq), Hebrew בָּרָק (bārāq).
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
aii · 8 lemmas- to flash, gleamInherited from Aramaic בְּרַק (bəraq); compare Arabic بَرَقَ (baraqa).
▸ 1 derivation
- derivedܡܲܒܪܸܩmabriq
- lightning (high voltage between a cloud and the ground accompanied by a bright flash)Inherited from Aramaic בַּרקָא (barqā), from Proto-Semitic *baraḳ- (“lightning”); compare Arabic بَرْق (barq), Hebrew בָּרָק (barák). The latter noun is an occupational noun derived from the former.
- electricianInherited from Aramaic בַּרקָא (barqā), from Proto-Semitic *baraḳ- (“lightning”); compare Arabic بَرْق (barq), Hebrew בָּרָק (barák). The latter noun is an occupational noun derived from the former.
- to electrifyIntensitive stem denominal from ܒܸܪܩܵܐ (birqā, “lightning; electricity”) and causitive stem of the verb ܒܵܪܹܩ (bārēq).
- jewel, precious stone, gem, gemstone (especially an emerald)Also attested in Classical Syriac ܒܪܩܐ (bārqā), from Biblical Hebrew בָּרֶקֶת (bāréqeṯ).
- electric, electrical (of or pertaining to electricity, or powered by electricity)From ܒܸܪܩܵܐ (birqā, “lightning; electricity”) + -ܝܐ (-āyā, the attributive adjective ending).
- opposite, on the other side, across, over the way fromDiverged from ܕܲܠܩܘܼܒ݂ܠ (dalquḇl, “against (figurative sense)”) or from ܒ- (b-, “in”)+Aramaic לְקֻבֵּל (“lqūḇel”, literally “opposite”). The pronunciation with /r/ rather than /l/ may be due to influence from the Kurdish loanword ܒܵܪܵܐ (bārā, “side”).
▸ 1 derivation
- derivedܡܒܲܪܩܸܠmbarqil
- plum (oval fleshy fruit of dark red or purple colour)Learned borrowing from Classical Syriac, from Ancient Greek πραικόκῐον (praikókĭon), ultimately from Latin praecox (“ripe”); compare also borrowed into Arabic بَرْقُوق (barqūq).
Hebrew
he · 7 lemmas- lightning (atmospheric flash of light)From Proto-Semitic *baraḳ-.
▸ 1 derivation
- derivedבני ברק
- Barak (the commander of the army of Deborah in the Old Testament)From Proto-Semitic *baraḳ-.
- thistle
- to lustre
- glossy
- telegramCoined by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda based upon Arabic بَرْقِيَّة (barqiyya). See בָּרָק (barák, “lightning”).
- congratulationsBorrowed from Arabic مَبْرُوك (mabrūk, “congratulations”, interjection).
Arabic
ar · 8 lemmas- to produce lightningFrom the root ب ر ق (b r q). From Proto-Semitic *baraḳ- (“lightning”), although Fronzaroli states that the noun "lightning" may be a deverbal form, in which case only the verb would be inherited.
- verbal noun of بَرَقَ (baraqa) (form I)From the root ب ر ق (b r q). From Proto-Semitic *baraḳ- (“lightning”), although Fronzaroli states that the noun "lightning" may be a deverbal form, in which case only the verb would be inherited.
- to make bolts of lightning
- shining; lustrousMorphologically from the root ب ر ق (b r q).
- telegram
Ge'ez
gez · 1 lemma- to lightningFrom Proto-Semitic *baraḳ- (“lightning”). Cognate with Hebrew בָּרַק, Arabic بَرَقَ (baraqa).
Amharic
am · 2 lemmas- lightning
- lightning
Tigrinya
ti · 3 lemmas- east
- watermelon
- easternFrom ምብራቕ (məbrax̣, “east”) + -ዊ (-wi).