Is there any connection between the Hebrew words  egel עגל - "calf (a young cow or other large mammal)" and igul עיגול - "cir...

What's the connection between the Hebrew word geshem - גשם - "rain" and gashmi גשמי - "physical"? From my initial...

What is the origin of the Hebrew word nusach נוסח? Before we delve into the etymology, let's discuss the meaning. Morfix offers ...

Let's take a look at the word shalal שָׁלָל. It means "spoils, booty, plunder" and according to Klein , derives from the root...

The Hebrew verb ichpat איכפת is strange. (It is sometimes pronounced in Modern Hebrew as echpat, perhaps because it is more commonly writte...

I found a couple of interesting etymologies related to words that we've discussed before, so I thought I'd share them with you now....

The Hebrew root צפה has two different meanings. One means "to look, observe, keep watch, expect", and gives us such words as: ...

Just before the main part of the Jewish wedding ceremony under the chuppah , the groom approaches the bride, and covers her face with a vei...

The Hebrew word kesef כסף - "silver" or "money" and kisufim כיסופים - "longing", share the same root. What is ...

Continuing our tour of the Mediterranean, this time we'll look at the name Buttigieg - most famous today as the surname of the mayor of ...

After discussing Cyprus and Rhodes , this time we'll look at another Mediterranean island in our discussion of "mayonnaise." ...

Last time we talked about the Mediterranean island of Cyprus . This time, we'll discuss a neighboring island: Rhodes . Rhodes is likel...

Sometimes it feels like tracking the etymologies of words is like a centuries long game of telephone. Let me show you what I mean. Here...

Last time we discussed two homographs - words written the same, with different pronunciations. Now I'd like to talk about two roots tha...

I was recently asked if there was any connection between the homographs chalav  חָלָב - "milk" and chelev  חֵלֶב - "fat"...

In Bereshit 11, the Torah provides an etymology for the name of the city of בבל Bavel (Babylon in English, the capital of Babylonia). It is ...

There is no question that the English word "behemoth", referring to a huge creature, comes from the Hebrew word behemot בהמות. Bu...

A podcast I enjoy, The History of English Podcast, had an episode a while back called " The Lion Kings " where the host discussed ...

I just read something interesting in Klein's entry for the Hebrew word sheled שלד: PBH [Post-Biblical Hebrew] skeleton.  Syriac של...

As you may have noticed, I haven't written any posts in Balashon in over a year. While I have not abandoned Balashon, I have put my acti...