d b r
45 lemmas · 10 languages
soundAll three consonants are regular📜 Gen.27.6
Themes:back·5wasp·3direction·2leader·2name· اِسْم · שֵׁם·2
POS shape:noun·30verb·11adj·3name·1
This root is attested across 10 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
*d-b-rProto-Semitic
West Semitic
Central Semitic
Northwest Semitic
Ugaritic𐎄𐎁𐎗𐎄 𐎁 𐎗— hinterland
Canaanite
Hebrewדָּבָרד ב ר— thing
Phoenician𐤃𐤁𐤓𐤕𐤃 𐤁 𐤓— wasp
Punic𐤃𐤁𐤓𐤕𐤃 𐤁 𐤓— wasp
Aramaic
Imperial Aramaicדְּבַרד ב ר— to take, seize
Syriacܕܒܪܐܕ ܒ ܪ— leading, driving, managing
Assyrian NAܕܵܒ݂ܹܪܕ ܒ ܪ— to close, lock
Arabic
Arabicدَبَرَد ب ر— to be hindmost, to come behind, to follow
South Semitic
Ethio-Semitic
Ge'ezደብርድ ብ ር— mountain
Amharicድብܕ ܒ ܪ— bear
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 · 2 lemmas- hinterlandPerhaps related to Hebrew מִדְבָּר (miḏbār, “wilderness, desert”).
- to speakCompare Hebrew דיבר (dibér, “to speak, say words”).
Phoenician
irregular reflexphn · 1 lemma- wasp
Punic
irregular reflexpun · 1 lemma- wasp
Imperial Aramaic
arc · 2 lemmas- to take, seize
- country, countryside
Classical Syriac
syc · 7 lemmas- leading, driving, managing
- wasp, hornet, droneCompare Arabic دَبُّور (dabbūr) and Hebrew דַּבּוּר (dabbûr).
- guidance, direction, instruction, trainingFrom the root ܕ ܒ ܪ related to leading.
- desert, wildernessFrom the root ܕ ܒ ܪ. Compare Akkadian 𒆳𒁀𒊒 (/madbaru/, “desert, wilderness, steppe, hinterlands; Arabia”) and Hebrew מִדְבָּר (miḏbār).
- leaderFrom the root ܕ ܒ ܪ related to leading.
- name of a star, possibly AldebaranFrom the root ܕ ܒ ܪ related to leading.
- direction, steeringFrom ܡܕܒܪܢܐ (m(ə)ḏabb(ə)rānā, “leader”), from the root ܕ ܒ ܪ related to leading + the abstract noun ending -ܘܬܐ (-ūṯā).
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
aii · 5 lemmas- to close, lockInherited from Aramaic [Term?]
- to manage, conduct, leadInherited from Aramaic [Term?], intensitive stem of the verb ܕܵܒ݂ܹܪ (dāḇēr).
- closed, shut, sealedPassive participle of ܕܵܒ݂ܹܪ (dāḇēr, “to close”).
- manager, head, chief, director, administratorActive noun of ܡܕܲܒܸܪ (mdabbir).
▸ 4 derivations
- derivedܡܕܲܒܪܵܢܵܐܝܼܬ݂mdabrānāˀīṯ
- derivedܡܕܲܒܪܵܢܘܼܬ݂ܵܐmdabrānūṯā
- derivedܚܠܵܦ ܡܕܲܒܪܵܢܵܐḥlāp mdabrānā
- derivedܡܲܘܬܒ݂ܵܐ ܕܡܕܲܒܪ̈ܵܢܹܐmawtḇā dmdabrānē
- screwdriver (tool for turning screws)
Hebrew
he · 8 lemmas- thing
▸ 8 derivations
- derivedאֵין דָּבָר הָעוֹמֵד בִּפְנֵי הָרָצוֹןen davár ha'oméd bif'néi haratsón
- derivedאִישׁ דְּבָרִיםísh d'varím
- derivedבְּסוֹפוֹ שֶׁל דָּבָרb'sofó shel davár
- derivedבִּשְׁלֹשָׁה דְּבָרִים אָדָם נִיכָּר: בְּכוֹסוֹ
- derivedוּבְכִיסוֹ
- derivedוּבְכַעְסוֹbish'loshá d'varím adám nikár: b'khosó, uv'khisó, uv'kha'asó
- derivedדָּבָר אַחֵרdavár akhér
- derivedדְּבַר תּוֹרָהd'vár torá
- leader
- defective spelling of דיבר
- Masculine singular imperative of דיבר / דִּבֵּר (dibér)
- defective spelling of דובר
- plague, pestilence
- logorrhea, excessive talkativeness
- to be spoken
Arabic
ar · 8 lemmas- to be hindmost, to come behind, to followFrom Proto-Afroasiatic *dâb-. Compare دُبْر (dubr, “back”), perhaps cognate with Hebrew דִּבֵּר (“to speak”).
- to have galls in the back, to have sores in the backFrom Proto-Afroasiatic *dâb-. Compare دُبْر (dubr, “back”), perhaps cognate with Hebrew דִּבֵּר (“to speak”).
- to arrange, to dispose, to plan, to prepare, to organize, to hatch, to contrive, to devise, to forecastFrom Proto-Afroasiatic *dâb-. Compare دُبْر (dubr, “back”), perhaps cognate with Hebrew דִּבֵּר (“to speak”).
- verbal noun of دَبَرَ (dabara) (form I)From Proto-Afroasiatic *dâb-. Compare دُبْر (dubr, “back”), perhaps cognate with Hebrew דִּבֵּר (“to speak”).
- verbal noun of دَبِرَ (dabira) (form I)From Proto-Afroasiatic *dâb-. Compare دُبْر (dubr, “back”), perhaps cognate with Hebrew דִּבֵּר (“to speak”).
- back, back side, reverseFrom Proto-Afroasiatic *dâb-. Compare دُبْر (dubr, “back”), perhaps cognate with Hebrew דִּבֵּר (“to speak”).
- swarm, flock, droveFrom Proto-Afroasiatic *dâb-. Compare دُبْر (dubr, “back”), perhaps cognate with Hebrew דִּבֵּר (“to speak”).
- having galls in the backFrom Proto-Afroasiatic *dâb-. Compare دُبْر (dubr, “back”), perhaps cognate with Hebrew דִּבֵּר (“to speak”).
Ge'ez
gez · 8 lemmas- mountainFrom the Proto-Semitic root d-b-r which has the general meanings 'to follow, to come or be behind, to lead.' Cognates include Arabic دَبْرٌ (dabrun), دُبْرٌ (dubrun, “back, hinder part”), Arabic دَبْرَةٌ (dabratun, “open field”) from دَبْرٌ (dabrun, “mountain”), which may be a borrowed from Ge'ez ደብር (däbr). Other…
- shrineFrom Ancient Greek δαβίρ (dabír), a transliteration of Biblical Hebrew דבִיר (dəβīr) or Biblical Hebrew דבִר (dəβir, “utility room in a temple”)
- territoryFrom the Proto-Semitic root d-b-r which has the general meanings 'to follow, to come or be behind, to lead.' Possibly a variant of ደብር (däbr); see the etymology under this lemma.
- mountainousFrom ደብር (däbr, “mountain”) and the adjectivizing suffix -awi
- metropolisFrom ደብር (däbr, “mountain”) and ሀገር (hägär, “city”)
- Mount of OlivesFrom ደብር (däbr, “mountain”) and ዘይት (zäyt, “olive tree”)
- according to tradition, a holy mountain on which the angles lived before the DelugeFrom ደብር (däbr, “mountain”) and ቅዱስ (ḳəddus, “holy, sacred”)
- name of the fourth Sunday of the fast before Easter.From ደብር (däbr, “mountain”) and ዘይት (zäyt, “olive tree”)
Amharic
am · 3 lemmas- bearFrom Proto-Semitic *dubb- (“bear”).
- church
- notebook, registerUltimately from Ancient Greek διφθέρᾱ (diphthérā, “leather hide parchment”), probably via Ge'ez ደብታር (däbtar, “notebook, register”).