m l ḥ
25 lemmas · 8 languages
soundAll three consonants are regularT Gen.19.26
Themes:salt· مِلْح · מֶלַח·13sailor·4mariner·3salty·3saline·3
POS shape:noun·16verb·4adj·4name·1
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
*m-l-ḥProto-Semitic
West Semitic
Central Semitic
Northwest Semitic
Ugaritic𐎎𐎍𐎈𐎚𐎎 𐎍 𐎈— salt
Canaanite
Hebrewמֶלַחמ ל ח— salt, the common substance used as a condiment
Aramaic
Imperial Aramaicמַלַחמ ל ח— to salt
Syriacܡܠܚܐܡ ܠ ܚ— salt
Assyrian NAܡܸܠܚܵܐܡ ܠ ܚ— salt
Arabic
Arabicمِلْحم ل ح— salt
South Semitic
Ethio-Semitic
Ge'ezምልሓመ ለ ሐ— knowledge, judgement, wisdom
Tigrinyaመልህቕמ ל ח— anchor
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- saltFrom Proto-West Semitic *milḥ-. Cognate with Hebrew מֶלַח (mélaḥ), Aramaic מִלְחָא (milḥā), Arabic مِلْح (milḥ).
- warCompare Hebrew מִלְחָמָה (milḥāmā).
Imperial Aramaic
arc · 4 lemmas- to salt
- absolute state of מִלְחָא (milḥā, “salt”)
- saltFrom Proto-West Semitic *milḥ-. Cognate to Hebrew מֶלַח (mélaḥ), Arabic مِلْح (milḥ).
- sailorFrom Akkadian 𒈣𒁻 (malāḫum, “shipman, sailor”), from Sumerian 𒈣𒁻 (ma₂-laḫ₄ /malaḫ/, “shipman, sailor”).
Classical Syriac
syc · 1 lemma- saltFrom Proto-West Semitic *milḥ-.
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
aii · 4 lemmas- saltInherited from Aramaic מִלְחָא (milḥa), from Proto-West Semitic *milḥ-; compare Arabic مِلْح (milḥ) and Hebrew מֶלַח (mélakh).
- sailor, marinerInherited from Aramaic מַלָּחָא (mallāḥā), from Akkadian 𒈣𒁻 (malāh̬um, “shipman, sailor”), from Sumerian 𒈣𒁻 (ma₂-laḫ₄ /malaḫ/, “shipman, sailor”); compare also borrowed into Arabic مَلَّاح (mallāḥ) and Hebrew מַלָּח (mallákh).
- Malikhtha (an Assyrian town located in the Barwar region)Also found in Classical Syriac ܡܵܠܲܚܬ݂ܵܐ (“salt marsh”) and Mlahsö ܡܠܱܚܣܐ (mlaḥso), possibly all originally the feminine active participle of a verb reflected in Classical Syriac ܡܠܲܚ (“to become salty”).
- to air-conditionLiterally, “To adapt the air”, Calque from English and denominal of ܡܲܠܚܡܵܢܝܼܬ݂ ܗܵܘܵܐ (malḥmānīṯ hāwā, “air conditioner”)
Hebrew
he · 4 lemmas- salt, the common substance used as a condimentFrom Proto-West Semitic *milḥ-. Compare Aramaic מִלְחָא (milḥā), Classical Syriac ܡܠܚܐ (milḥā), Arabic مِلْح (milḥ), Maltese melħ.
▸ 6 derivations
- derivedמלחייהmilkhiyá
- derivedמִלְחִיָּהmilkhiyá
- derivedמֶלַח יָםmélakh yam
- derivedמֶלַח לִימוֹןmélakh limón
- derivedמלח סדומית
- derivedיַם הַמֶּלַחYam HaMélakh
- sailor, marinerFrom Akkadian 𒈣𒁻 (malāḫum, “shipman, sailor”), from Sumerian 𒈣𒁻 (ma₂-laḫ₄ /malaḫ/, “shipman, sailor”). Cognate with Arabic مَلَّاح (mallāḥ).
- salty, salineCompare Arabic مَالِح (māliḥ).
- To salt, to add salt to, to sprinkle or pour salt on or into, to season with salt.From the root מ־ל־ח (m-l-ḥ), using the hif`íl conjugation.
Arabic
ar · 8 lemmas- saltInherited from Proto-West Semitic *milḥ-.
- salty, salineInherited from Proto-West Semitic *milḥ-.
- to saltInherited from Proto-West Semitic *milḥ-.
- elative degree of مَلِيح (malīḥ)Elative of مَلِيح (malīḥ, “handsome”).
- salty, saline.Cognate with Hebrew מלוח (malúakh).
- mariner, shipman, sailor, helmsmanFrom Aramaic מַלָּחָא (mallāḥā) / ܡܰܠܴܚܳܐ (mallāḥā, “shipman, sailor”), from Akkadian 𒈣𒁻 (malāḫum, “shipman, sailor”), from Sumerian 𒈣𒁻 (ma₂-laḫ₄ /malaḫ/, “shipman, sailor”), reinterpreted in Semitic as an occupational noun from the root م ل ح (m l ḥ).
- plural of مِلْح (milḥ)
- a beautiful, elegant, witty or facetious story
Ge'ez
gez · 1 lemma- knowledge, judgement, wisdom
Tigrinya
ti · 1 lemma- anchor