l ḥ m
30 lemmas · 8 languages
soundAll three consonants are regularT Gen.3.19
Themes:bread· خُبْز · לֶחֶם·8fight·2solder·2meat· لَحْم · בָּשָׂר·2
POS shape:noun·16verb·11adj·3
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
*l-ḥ-mProto-Semitic
West Semitic
Central Semitic
Northwest Semitic
Ugaritic𐎍𐎈𐎎𐎍 𐎈 𐎎— bread
Canaanite
Hebrewהֶלְחֵםל ח ם— portmanteau
Aramaic
Imperial Aramaicלַחְמָאל ח מ— bread
Syriacܠܚܡܐܠ ܚ ܡ— bread
Assyrian NAܠܵܚܹܡܠ ܚ ܡ— to adapt, fit, form, mold
Turoyoܠܚܡܐܠ ܚ ܡ— bread
Western NAܠܚܡܐܠ ܚ ܡ— bread
Arabic
Arabicلَحْمل ح م— flesh, meat
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- breadCompare Hebrew לֶחֶם (léḥem), Arabic لَحْم (laḥm).
- to eatCompare Hebrew לֶחֶם (léḥem), Arabic لَحْم (laḥm).
Imperial Aramaic
arc · 1 lemma- breadCompare Hebrew לֶחֶם (lékhem, “bread, food”) and Arabic لَحْم (laḥm, “meat”)
Classical Syriac
syc · 1 lemma- breadFrom the root ܠ ܚ ܡ related to eating. Compare Arabic لَحْم (laḥm) and Hebrew לֶחֶם (léḥem).
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
aii · 8 lemmas- to adapt, fit, form, moldFrom Aramaic לֲחַם (lăham).
- construct state singular of ܠܲܚܡܵܐ (laḥmā, “bread”)From Aramaic לֲחַם (lăham).
- bread (baked dough made from cereals)Inherited from Aramaic לַחְמָא (laḥmā), from Proto-Semitic *laḥm-; compare Hebrew לֶחֶם (lékhem, “bread”) and Arabic لَحْم (laḥm, “meat”).
- to threaten, menaceIntensitive and causitive stems of the verb ܠܵܚܹܡ (lāḥēm). The sense of “to bake” is denominal of ܠܲܚܡܵܐ (laḥmā) and the sense of “to air-condition” is denominal from ܡܲܠܚܡܵܢܝܼܬ݂ ܗܵܘܵܐ (malḥmānīṯ hāwā, “air-conditioner”).
▸ 1 derivation
- derivedܡܲܠܚܸܡ ܗܵܘܵܐmalḥim hāwā
- to adjust, condition, modify, regulateIntensitive and causitive stems of the verb ܠܵܚܹܡ (lāḥēm). The sense of “to bake” is denominal of ܠܲܚܡܵܐ (laḥmā) and the sense of “to air-condition” is denominal from ܡܲܠܚܡܵܢܝܼܬ݂ ܗܵܘܵܐ (malḥmānīṯ hāwā, “air-conditioner”).
- good-lookingOf the adjective pattern 1a22ū3ā.
- right, appropriate, fitting, suitableFrom the active participle of verb ܠܵܚܹܡ (lāḥēm, “to be fitting; to adapt”) + -ܝܐ (-āyā, the attributive adjective ending).
- composer, compiler, authorActive noun of the verb ܡܲܠܚܸܡ (malḥim, “to adjust, adapt; compose, harmonize”).
Hebrew
he · 8 lemmas- portmanteau
- combatant, fighter
- to fight, wage war
- to solder
- fighting
- conjunctiva
- to tilt at windmills: to fight imagined enemiesLiterally: "to wage war with windmills." Compare tilt at windmills.
- breadCognate with Arabic لَحْم (laḥm, “meat”), with the varying semantic developments being due to the differing agriculture and diets of the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent. The verb follows from the noun and is usually employed to form figurae etymologicae.
▸ 4 derivations
- derivedבֵּית לֶחֶםbet lékhem
- derivedלֶחֶם מִשְׁנֶהlékhem mishné
- derivedלחמנייהlakhmaniyá
- derivedלַחְמָנִיָּהlakhmaniyá
Arabic
ar · 8 lemmas- flesh, meatInherited from Proto-Semitic *laḥm- (“food, eatables; meat, bread”), from Proto-Afroasiatic *laḥam- (“food”). Cognate with Aramaic לַחְמָא (laḥmā), Classical Syriac ܠܚܡܐ (laḥmā), Hebrew לֶחֶם (léḥem), Ugaritic 𐎍𐎈𐎎 (lḥm /laḥmu/), Ge'ez ላህም (lahm), all meaning “food” or “bread”. The varying semantic developments are…
- to be fleshy, to be corpulent, to be fat
- to crave meat
- to knit together, to close up
- to weld, to solder
- carnivorous
- butcherOccupational noun from the root ل ح م (l ḥ m).
- verbal noun of لَاحَمَ (lāḥama) (form I)
Turoyo
tru · 1 lemma- bread
Western Neo-Aramaic
amw · 1 lemma- bread