z n g
18 lemmas · 7 languages
soundAll three consonants are regular
Themes:ginger·4zinjiyy·4negro·2
POS shape:noun·12adj·3verb·2name·1
This root is attested across 7 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
*z-n-gProto-Semitic
West Semitic
Central Semitic
Northwest Semitic
Canaanite
Hebrewזַנְגְּבִילז נ ג— ginger
Aramaic
Imperial Aramaicזַנְגְּבִילָאז נ ג— ginger
Syriacܙܢܓܪܐܙ ܢ ܓ— verdigris, rust
Assyrian NAܙܲܓܵܐܙ ܢ ܓ— bell (a percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when struck)
Arabic
Arabicزَنْجز ن ج— Zanj, a certain part of the east coast of Africa.
South Semitic
Ethio-Semitic
Amharicዘነጋዘ ነ ገ— to forget
Tigrinyaመዘናግዒዘ ነ ገ— park
Branch structure: Huehnergard (2005), Rubin (2010). The reconstructed Proto-Semitic form is computed on the fly from the cognate set's majority reflex pattern.
Imperial Aramaic
arc · 1 lemma- gingerBorrowed from Iranian.
Classical Syriac
syc · 2 lemmas- verdigris, rustFrom Middle Persian *zngʾl (zangār). Compare Persian زنگار (zangâr) and Arabic زِنْجَار (zinjār) and see the former for more.
- gingerVia an unattested Middle Iranian from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀕𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭 (siṃgivera).
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
aii · 3 lemmas- bell (a percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when struck)Inherited from Aramaic זַגָּא (zaggā), from the earlier unassimilated form זַנְגָּא (zangā), from Middle Persian 𐭦𐭭𐭢 (zang); compare Persian زنگ (zang).
- to ring, chimeDenominal verb derived from ܙܲܓܵܐ (zaggā, “bell”).
- gingerLearned borrowing from Classical Syriac, from Aramaic זַנְגְּבִילָא (zangəḇīlā) from an unattested Middle Iranian from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀕𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭 (siṃgivera); Arabic زَنْجَبِيل (zanjabīl) and Hebrew זַנְגְּבִיל (zangvíl).
Hebrew
he · 1 lemma- gingerMedieval borrowing from Arabic زَنْجَبِيل (zanjabīl), and earlier still from Aramaic זַנְגְּבִילָא (zangḇīlā, zangəḇīlā) which is apart from various Babylonian Talmud Mishna Tractates notably found in the Targum Song of Songs 3:9 however the compilator of the TgSong is theoretized to be a native Arabic speaker instead…
Arabic
ar · 8 lemmas- Zanj, a certain part of the east coast of Africa.
- NegroFrom Persian زنگی (zangi, “dark-skinned”), from Middle Persian zngyk' (zangīg, “Negro”).
- NegroFrom Persian زنگی (zangi, “dark-skinned”), from Middle Persian zngyk' (zangīg, “Negro”).
- plural of زِنْجِيّ (zinjiyy)
- masculine plural of زِنْجِيّ (zinjiyy)
- cinnabarBorrowed from the Middle Persian ancestor of Persian شنگرف (šangarf).
- female equivalent of زِنْجِيّ (zinjiyy)
- feminine singular of زِنْجِيّ (zinjiyy)
Amharic
am · 2 lemmas- to forget
- road
Tigrinya
ti · 1 lemma- park