Triconsonantal Roots
A triliteral or triconsonantal root (Hebrew: שוֹרֶש; šoreš, Arabic: جذر ثلاثي; jiḏr ṯulāṯī, Syriac: ܫܪܫܐ; šeršā) is a root containing a sequence of three consonants.
The following are some of the forms which can be derived from the triconsonantal root k-t-b (general overall meaning "to write") in Hebrew and Arabic:
Note: The Hebrew fricatives transcribed as "ḵ" and "ḇ" can also be transcribed in a number of other ways, such as "ch" and "v" (Eastern-European influenced), which are pronounced and, respectively. They are transliterated "ḵ" and "ḇ" on this page to retain the connection with the pure consonantal root k-t-b. Also notice that in Modern Hebrew, there is no gemination.
| Semitological abbreviation | Hebrew name | Arabic name | Morphological category | Hebrew Form | Arabic form | Approximate translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G verb stem | Pa‘al (or Qal) | fa‘ala فَعَلَ (Stem I) |
3rd. masc. sing perfect | kataḇ כתב | kataba كتب | "he wrote" |
| 1st. plur. perfect | kataḇnu כתבנו | katabnā كتبنا | "we wrote" | |||
| 3rd. masc. sing. imperfect | yiḵtoḇ יכתוב | yaktubu يكتب | "he writes, will write" | |||
| 1st. plur. imperfect | niḵtoḇ נכתוב | naktubu نكتب | "we write, will write" | |||
| masc. sing. active participle | koteḇ כותב | kātib كاتب | "writer" | |||
| Š verb stem | Hip̄‘il | af‘ala أَفْعَلَ (Stem IV) |
3rd. masc. sing perfect | hiḵtiḇ הכתיב | aktaba أكتب | "he dictated" |
| 3rd. masc. sing. imperfect | yaḵtiḇ יכתיב | yuktibu يكتب | "he dictates, will dictate" | |||
| Št(D) verb stem | Hitpa‘‘el | istaf‘ala استَفْعَلَ (Stem X) |
3rd. masc. sing perfect | hitkatteḇ התכתב | istaktaba استكتب | "he corresponded" (Hebrew), "he asked (someone) to write (something), had a copy made" (Arabic) |
| 3rd. masc. sing. imperfect | yitkatteḇ יתכתב | yastaktibu يستكتب | (imperfect of above) | |||
| Noun with m- prefix and original short vowels: | maf‘al مَفْعَل |
singular | miḵtaḇ מכתב | maktab مكتب | "letter" (Hebrew), "office" (Arabic) | |
In Hebrew grammatical terminology, the word binyan (Hebrew בנין, plural בינינים binyanim) is used to refer to a verb stem or overall verb derivation pattern, while the word mishqal (or mishkal) is used to refer to a noun derivation pattern, and these words have gained some use in English-language linguistic terminology. The Arabic terms, called وزن wazn (plural أوزان, awzān) for the pattern and جذر jiḏr (plural جذور, juḏūr) for the root have not gained the same currency as the Hebrew equivalents, and Western grammarians continue to use "stem"/"form"/"pattern" for the former and "root" for the latter—though "form" and "pattern" are accurate translations of the Arabic grammatical term wazn (originally meaning 'weight, measure'), and "root" is a literal translation of jiḏr.
See also: Category:Triconsonantal rootsRead more about this topic: Semitic Root
Famous quotes containing the word roots:
“Though of erect nature, man is far above the plants. For man’s superior part, his head, is turned toward the superior part of the world, and his inferior part is turned toward the inferior world; and therefore he is perfectly disposed as to the general situation of his body. Plants have the superior part turned towards the lower world, since their roots correspond to the mouth, and their inferior parts towards the upper world.”
—Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274)