סביבון

Hebrew

Etymology

Root
ס־ב־ב (s-b-b)
14 terms

Late 19th century: from סְבִיב (s'viv) +‎ ־וֹן (-ón). It is disputed who coined the word: it was either Coined by Itamar Ben-Avi (the son of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda) at the age of five (i.e. 1887), who writes in his memoir that he remembers one day jumping to his mother and telling her that he found a סביבון (s'vivón, “dreidel”), or the writer and journalist David Yeshayahu Silberbusch who published the word in an 1897 list for Ha-Tsefirah.

Many other names were suggested but didn't catch, including כִּרְכָּר by Bialik, חֲזַרְזָר by Mendele Mocher Sforim, סוֹבֶבֶת, פַּרְפָּרָה, מִגְדַּל עֹז, גַּלְגְּלָן and more.

Pronunciation

Noun

סְבִיבוֹן • (s'vivónm (plural indefinite סְבִיבוֹנִים, singular construct סביבון־)

  1. A spinning top.
  2. A Hanukkah dreidel.

Declension

Declension of סְבִיבוֹן
isolated forms with possessive pronouns
Number: State: form Person: singular plural
m f m f
singular indefinite סְבִיבוֹן first סְבִיבוֹנִי סְבִיבוֹנֵנוּ
definite הַסְּבִיבוֹן second סְבִיבוֹנְךָ סְבִיבוֹנֵךְ סְבִיבוֹנְכֶם סְבִיבוֹנְכֶן
construct סְבִיבוֹן־ third סְבִיבוֹנוֹ סְבִיבוֹנָהּ סְבִיבוֹנָם סְבִיבוֹנָן
plural indefinite סְבִיבוֹנִים first סביבוניי / סְבִיבוֹנַי סְבִיבוֹנֵינוּ
definite הַסְּבִיבוֹנִים second סְבִיבוֹנֶיךָ סביבונייך / סְבִיבוֹנַיִךְ סְבִיבוֹנֵיכֶם סְבִיבוֹנֵיכֶן
construct סְבִיבוֹנֵי־ third סְבִיבוֹנָיו סְבִיבוֹנֶיהָ סְבִיבוֹנֵיהֶם סְבִיבוֹנֵיהֶן

References

  • סביבון” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language
  • "סביבון" in the Noun Declension Tables of the Academy of Hebrew Language

Further reading