שמאל

See also: שמאָל

Hebrew

Alternative forms

  • (politics): סמוֹל (satiric misspelling)

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *śimaʔl-. Cognate with Arabic شِمَال (šimāl), Akkadian 𒆏 (šumēlum), Aramaic סְמָלָא (səmālā), שְׂמָאלָא (śəmālā), ܣܸܡܵܠܵܐ (semmālā), Ugaritic 𐎌𐎎𐎀𐎍 (šmảl). The north sense derives from the direction being on the left side facing the sunrise, this sense also exists in Arabic.

Pronunciation

  • (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA(key): /ˈsmol/
    • Audio (Modern Israeli Hebrew):(file)
  • (Sephardi Hebrew) IPA(key): /seˈmol/
  • Rhymes: (Modern, Sephardi) -ol

Noun

שְׂמֹאל • (s'mól) m

  1. left (the left side or direction)
    Antonym: יָמִין (yamín)
    בצד שמאל ― b'tsád s'mól ― on the left side
    יד שמאל ― yád s'mól ― left hand
  2. (politics) The Left, the political left.
    Antonym: יָמִין (yamín)
    מפלגת שמאל ― mifléget s'mól ― a left-wing party
  3. (Biblical Hebrew) North.
    Synonym: צָפוֹן (tsafón)
    Antonyms: יָמִין (yamín), דָּרוֹם (daróm), נֶגֶב (négev), תֵּימָן (teimán)
    • Tanach, Genesis 14:15:
      וַיֵּחָלֵק עֲלֵיהֶם לַיְלָה הוּא וַעֲבָדָיו וַיַּכֵּם וַיִּרְדְּפֵם עַד־חוֹבָה אֲשֶׁר מִשְּׂמֹאל לְדַמָּשֶׂק׃
      And he divided himself [i.e. his troops] against them at night — he and his servants, and he routed them and pursued them until Hova, which is to the north of Damascus.

Declension

Declension of שְׂמֹאל
isolated forms with possessive pronouns
Number: State: form Person: singular plural
m f m f
singular indefinite שְׂמֹאל first שְׂמֹאלִי שְׂמֹאלֵנוּ
definite הַשְּׂמֹאל second שְׂמֹאלְךָ שְׂמֹאלֵךְ שְׂמֹאלְכֶם שְׂמֹאלְכֶן
construct שְׂמֹאל־ third שְׂמֹאלוֹ שְׂמֹאלָהּ שְׂמֹאלָם שְׂמֹאלָן

Derived terms

  • שְׂמֹאלָה (s'móla, “leftward, to the left”)
  • שְׂמָאלוּת (smalút, “left-handedness”)
  • שְׂמָאלִי (s'malí, “lefty”)
  • שְׂמָאלִיּוּת (smaliyút, “leftism”)
  • שׂמֹאלָן (smolán, “a leftist”)
  • שְׂמֹאלָנוּת (smolanút, “leftism”)
  • שְׂמֹאלָנִי (smolaní, “leftist”)

References

Yiddish

Adjective

שמאל • (shmol)

  1. (nonstandard) Unpointed form of שמאָל (shmol).
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