ܬܡܠ

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic

Alternative forms

• ܐܸܬ݂ܡܵܠܝ (iṯmāl), ܬܸܡܵܠܝ (timmāl)

Etymology

From Aramaic אֵתמָלי (ʾeṯmāl); related to Hebrew אֶתְמוֹל (etmól, “yesterday”) and Ugaritic 𐎛𐎚𐎎𐎍 (ỉtml).

Pronunciation

• (Standard) IPA^(key): [tɪm.maːl]
• (Bohtan) IPA^(key): [ʔitmal]

Adverb

ܬܸܡܵܠ • (timmāl)

1. yesterday

   Coordinate terms: ܐܸܕܝܘܿܡ (idyōm, “today”), ܡܚܵܪ (mḥār, “tomorrow”)

   ܐܸܕܝܘܿܡ ܝܵܘܡܵܐ ܒܲܣܝܼܡܵܐ ܝܠܹܗ، ܐܝܼܢܵܐ ܬܸܡܵܠ ܝܵܘܡܵܐ ܕܩܲܪܬܵܐ ܝܗ݇ܘܵܐ.

   idyōm yāwmā basīmā ìlēh, īnā timmāl yāwmā d-qartā ìwā.

   Today is a beautiful day, but yesterday was cold.

Usage notes

• While ܬܸܡܵܠ (timmāl) traditionally and technically means yesterday, in many colloquial Assyrian Neo-Aramaic dialects it can mean both yesterday and tomorrow; this is the suggested word for yesterday in Iraqi Koine, with ܩܘܼܕܡܹܐ (qudmē) or ܡܚܵܪ (mḥār) being for tomorrow.

  In such dialects, the phrases ܬܸܡܵܠ ܕܥܒ݂ܝܼܪܹܗ (timmāl dˁḇīrēh, literally “yesterday that passed”) and ܬܸܡܵܠ ܕܐܵܬܹܐ (timmāl d-ātē, literally “yesterday that will come”) are used to disambiguate

Derived terms

• ܬܸܡܵܠ ܒܠܲܝܠܹܐ (timmāl b-laylē, “last night”)
• ܡܢܵܬ݂ܡܵܠܝܼ (mnāṯmālī, “ereyesterday”)