Hebrew

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Root
צ־ב־ע (ts-b-ʿ)

Etymology 1

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Adjective

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צָבוּעַ (tsavúa)

  1. painted, colored
  2. hypocritical

Noun

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צָבוּעַ (tsavúam (plural indefinite צְבוּעִים, feminine counterpart צְבוּעָה)

  1. (male) hypocrite

Etymology 2

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From Proto-Semitic *ṣ́abuʕ- (hyena). Cognate with Arabic ضَبُع (ḍabuʕ).

Noun

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צָבוֹעַ (tsavóa, ṣāḇốaʿm (plural indefinite צְבוֹעִים)

  1. hyena
  2. (Talmud) a male hyena, which begins to shapeshift into other creatures after 7 years of its life

References

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  • Kogan, Leonid (2011) “Proto-Semitic Lexicon”, in Weninger, Stefan, editor, The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook (Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft – Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science; 36), Berlin: De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 208