דָּבָרdabar

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Ancient Hebrew

Root

dabira

to move backwards, to withdraw, to shift to the rear, to give ground

Hebrew dabar descends from Shona dabira, to move behind, to withdraw

Confidence
71/100
Root language
Shona
Descent begins
dabarModern Hebrew

The consensus position

Mainstream comparative Semitics derives דָּבָר from the triliteral root d-b-r, cognate with Arabic dubur "hind part" and dabbara "to arrange", Akkadian dabāru "to drive off", and Ugaritic, Phoenician and Moabite dbr "word, matter"; whether the "speak" sense derives from "be behind, set in order" or belongs to a separate homophonous root is unresolved. No relationship to Bantu is recognised, and any resemblance to Shona forms is treated as coincidence.

The working behind this.

The full descent — 8 links from the attested form down to the root — the segment-by-segment correspondences, the phonological breakdown and the case for the derivation are behind an account.

An account opens 10 entries in full, free.

Elsewhere in the corpus