Hebrew

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Etymology

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Root
כ־נ־ף (k-n-p)

From Proto-Semitic *kanap-, cognate with Akkadian 𒉺 (kappum, wing, branch), Arabic كَنَف (kanaf, wing, side, bosom), Ge'ez ክንፍ (kənf, wing, fin).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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כָּנָף (kanáff (dual indefinite כנפיים / כְּנָפַיִם, plural indefinite כְּנָפוֹת, singular construct כְּנַף־, dual construct כַּנְפֵי־, plural construct כַּנְפוֹת־) [pattern: קָטָל]

  1. A wing
    • Tanach, Zechariah 5:9:
      וָאֶשָּׂא עֵינַי וָאֵרֶא וְהִנֵּה שְׁתַּיִם נָשִׁים יוֹצְאוֹת וְרוּחַ בְּכַנְפֵיהֶם וְלָהֵנָּה כְנָפַיִם כְּכַנְפֵי הַחֲסִידָה ותשנה אֶת הָאֵיפָה בֵּין הָאָרֶץ וּבֵין הַשָּׁמָיִם׃
      va'esa' 'einai va'ere' v'hine sh'tayim nashim yots'ot v'ruakh b'khanfeihem v'lahena kh'nafayim k'khanfei hakhasida vatishena et ha'eyfa ben ha'arets uven hashamayim.
      And I lifted my eyes and I saw, and behold, two women emerging and there was wind in their wings and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they carried the ephah between the land and the sky.
    • אפרת גוש, לראות את האור
      ולרגע יכולתי לברוח כנוצה על כְּנָפָהּ של ציפור
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  2. fender, mudguard

Usage notes

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  • As with many other nouns, the plural form is rarely used in modern Hebrew even when referring to more than two wings.

Declension

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References

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  • כנף” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language

Further reading

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