שמאל

See also: שמאָל

Hebrew

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *šimaʔl. 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.

   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: צָפֹון (tsafón)

   Antonyms: יָמִין (yamín), דָּרוֹם (daróm), נֶגֶב (négev), תֵּימָן (teimán)

   • Tanach, Genesis 14:15, with translation of the New International Version:

     וַיֵּחָלֵק עֲלֵיהֶם לַיְלָה הוּא וַעֲבָדָיו וַיַּכֵּם וַֽיִּרְדְּפֵם עַד־חֹובָה אֲשֶׁר מִשְּׂמֹאל לְדַמָּֽשֶׂק׃

     During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

Declension

Declension of שְׂמֹאל

Number	Isolated forms		With possessive pronouns
	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

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

 

References

• H8040 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible

Yiddish

Adjective

שמאל • (shmol)

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