Proto-Semitic
Proto-language (reconstructed) · historical / hidden variety
Proto-Semitic is the reconstructed ancestor of the Semitic languages (Akkadian, Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ethiopic and others), a branch of Afroasiatic. It is usually placed in the Levant or northern Arabia around 3800–3000 BCE and is one of the best-reconstructed proto-languages, thanks to the long written history of its descendants.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Proto-Semitic
Water
*māʔ-
/māʔ-/
Fire
*ʔiš-
/ʔiš-/
Sun
*šamš-
/šamš-/
Moon
*warḫ-
/warḫ-/
Star
*kawkab-
/kawkab-/
Mother
*ʔimm-
/ʔimm-/
Father
*ʔab-
/ʔab-/
I
*ʔanāku
/ʔanāku/
You
*ʔanta
/ʔanta/
Name
*šim-
/šim-/
Eye
*ʕayn-
/ʕayn-/
Hand
*yad-
/yad-/
Heart
*libb-
/libb-/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
*ʕiṣ́-
/ʕiṣ́-/
House
*bayt-
/bayt-/
Dog
*kalb-
/kalb-/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
*ʔakal-
/ʔakal-/
Drink
*šatay-
/šatay-/
One
*ʔaḥad-
/ʔaḥad-/
Two
*ṯin-
/ṯin-/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
*ṭāb-
/ṭāb-/
Sources
- Huehnergard & Pat-El (eds., 2019) The Semitic Languages
- Kogan (2011) Proto-Semitic Phonology and Lexicon
Words compared
Compared with related Proto-language (reconstructed) languages
| Meaning | Proto-Semitic | Ugaritic | Sabaean | Punic | Old Aramaic | Phoenician | Proto-Afroasiatic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | *māʔ- /māʔ-/ | 𐎎𐎊 /maju/ | 𐩣𐩥 /maw/ | 𐤌𐤉𐤌 /majim/ | מין /majin/ | 𐤌𐤌 /meːm/ | *maw- /maw-/ |
| Fire | *ʔiš- /ʔiš-/ | 𐎛𐎌𐎚 /ʔiʃt/ | 𐩱𐩪 /ʔas/ | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ | נור /nuːr/ | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | *šamš- /šamš-/ | 𐎌𐎔𐎌 /ʃapʃ/ | 𐩦𐩣𐩪 /ʃams/ | 𐤔𐤌𐤔 /ʃameʃ/ | שמש /ʃamʃ/ | 𐤔𐤌𐤔 /ʃameʃ/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | *warḫ- /warḫ-/ | 𐎊𐎗𐎈 /jaːriχ/ | 𐩥𐩧𐩭 /warχ/ | 𐤉𐤓𐤇 /jeraħ/ | שהר /sahr/ | 𐤉𐤓𐤇 /jaræħ/ | — /—/ |
| Star | *kawkab- /kawkab-/ | 𐎋𐎁𐎋𐎁 /kabkabu/ | 𐩫𐩨𐩫𐩨 /kabkab/ | 𐤊𐤊𐤁 /koːkab/ | כוכב /kawkab/ | 𐤊𐤊𐤁 /koːkab/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | *ʔimm- /ʔimm-/ | 𐎜𐎎 /ʔumm/ | 𐩱𐩣 /ʔumm/ | 𐤀𐤌 /ʔem/ | אמ /ʔem/ | 𐤀𐤌 /ʔem/ | *ʔim- /ʔim-/ |
| Father | *ʔab- /ʔab-/ | 𐎜𐎁 /ʔabu/ | 𐩱𐩨 /ʔab/ | 𐤀𐤁 /ʔav/ | אב /ʔab/ | 𐤀𐤁 /ʔab/ | *ʔab- /ʔab-/ |
| I | *ʔanāku /ʔanāku/ | 𐎀𐎐𐎋 /ʔanaːku/ | 𐩱𐩬 /ʔana/ | 𐤀𐤍𐤊 /ʔanoːk/ | אנה /ʔanaː/ | 𐤀𐤍𐤊 /ʔanoːkiː/ | *ʔan- /ʔan-/ |
| You | *ʔanta /ʔanta/ | 𐎀𐎚 /ʔatta/ | 𐩱𐩬𐩩 /ʔanta/ | 𐤀𐤕 /ʔatta/ | אנת /ʔantaː/ | 𐤀𐤕 /ʔatta/ | — /—/ |
| Name | *šim- /šim-/ | 𐎌𐎎 /ʃumu/ | 𐩪𐩣 /sim/ | 𐤔𐤌 /ʃem/ | שם /ʃum/ | 𐤔𐤌 /ʃem/ | *sim- /sim-/ |
| Eye | *ʕayn- /ʕayn-/ | 𐎓𐎐 /ʕajnu/ | 𐩲𐩺𐩬 /ʕajn/ | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ | עין /ʕajn/ | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ | *ʕayn- /ʕayn-/ |
| Hand | *yad- /yad-/ | 𐎊𐎄 /jadu/ | 𐩺𐩵 /jad/ | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ | יד /jad/ | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | *libb- /libb-/ | 𐎍𐎁 /libbu/ | 𐩡𐩨 /lubb/ | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ | לב /leb/ | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | 𐎜𐎈𐎁 /ʔaːhab/ | 𐩥𐩵𐩵 /wadda/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ | רחם /raħem/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | *ʕiṣ́- /ʕiṣ́-/ | 𐎓𐎕 /ʕasˤu/ | 𐩲𐩳 /ʕaːð/ | 𐤏𐤑 /ʕesˤ/ | עץ /ʕeːsˤ/ | 𐤏𐤑 /ʕesˤ/ | — /—/ |
| House | *bayt- /bayt-/ | 𐎁𐎚 /bajtu/ | 𐩨𐩺𐩩 /bajt/ | 𐤁𐤕 /bajit/ | בית /beːt/ | 𐤁𐤕 /bajit/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | *kalb- /kalb-/ | 𐎋𐎍𐎁 /kalbu/ | 𐩫𐩡𐩨 /kalb/ | 𐤊𐤋𐤁 /kalb/ | כלב /kalb/ | 𐤊𐤋𐤁 /kalb/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐤔𐤍𐤓 /ʃunaːr/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | *ʔakal- /ʔakal-/ | 𐎍𐎈𐎎 /laħam/ | 𐩱𐩫𐩡 /ʔakal/ | 𐤀𐤊𐤋 /ʔakal/ | אכל /ʔakal/ | 𐤀𐤊𐤋 /ʔakal/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | *šatay- /šatay-/ | 𐎌𐎚𐎊 /ʃataju/ | 𐩪𐩩𐩺 /ʃataja/ | 𐤔𐤕 /ʃat/ | שתה /ʃataː/ | 𐤔𐤕 /ʃat/ | — /—/ |
| One | *ʔaḥad- /ʔaḥad-/ | 𐎀𐎈𐎄 /ʔaːħadu/ | 𐩱𐩢𐩵 /ʔaħad/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ | חד /ħad/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ | — /—/ |
| Two | *ṯin- /ṯin-/ | 𐎘𐎐 /θnaː/ | 𐩻𐩬𐩺 /θanay/ | 𐤔𐤍𐤌 /ʃnem/ | תרין /treːn/ | 𐤔𐤍𐤌 /ʃnem/ | *sin- /sin-/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | 𐎌𐎍𐎎 /ʃalaːmu/ | 𐩪𐩡𐩣 /salaːm/ | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ | שלם /ʃəlaːm/ | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐩢𐩣𐩵 /ħamad/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | *ṭāb- /ṭāb-/ | 𐎉𐎁 /tˤaːbu/ | 𐩷𐩨 /tˤajjib/ | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ | טב /tˤab/ | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ | — /—/ |
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