Segolate
{{more citations needed|date=December 2024}}
Segolates are words in the Hebrew language whose end is of the form CVCVC, where the penultimate vowel receives syllable stress. Such words are called "segolates" because the final unstressed vowel is typically (but not always) segol.
These words evolved from older Semitic words that ended in a complex coda; indeed, when a suffix (other than an absolute plural) is added to a segolate, the original form (or something similar) reappears (cf. kéleḇ "dog" vs. kalbī "my dog").{{cn|date=February 2024}}
Examples:{{cn|date=February 2024}}
| *Ancient
! colspan="2" | Tiberian ! colspan="2" | Stem ! Meaning |
|---|
| align="left" dir="ltr" |*ʼarṥ
| align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|אֶרֶץ, אָרֶץ}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | ʼéreṣ, ʼā́reṣ | align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|אַרְצ־}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | ʼarṣ- | earth; land |
| align="left" dir="ltr" | *ʼurn
| align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|אֹרֶן}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | ʼṓren | align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|אָרְנ־}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | ʼorn- | pine tree |
| align="left" dir="ltr" | *baʻl
| align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|בַּעַל, בָּעַל}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | báʻal, bā́ʻal | align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|בַּעֲל־}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | baʻăl- | husband |
| align="left" dir="ltr" | *zarʻ
| align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|זֶרַע, זָרַע}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | zéraʻ, zā́raʻ | align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|זַרְע־}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | zarʻ- | seed |
| align="left" dir="ltr" | *yayn
| align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|יַיִן, יָיִן}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | yáyin, yā́yin | align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|יֵינ־}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | yên- | wine |
| align="left" dir="ltr" | *milḥ
| align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|מֶלַח}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | mélaḥ | align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|מִלְח־}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | milḥ- | salt |
| align="left" dir="ltr" | *milk
| align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|מֶלֶך}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | méleḵ | align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|מַלְכּ־}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | malk- | king |
| align="left" dir="ltr" | *kalb
| align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|כֶּלֶב, כָּלֶב}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | kéleḇ, kā́leḇ | align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|כַּלְבּ־}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | kalb- | dog |
| align="left" dir="ltr" | *laḥy
| align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|לֶחִי, לְחִי}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | léḥî, ləḥî | align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|לֶחֱי־}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | leḥĕy- | cheek; tool jaw |
| align="left" dir="ltr" | *ʻibr
| align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|עֵבֶר}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | ʻḖḇer | align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|עִבְר־}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | ʻiḇr- | Eber |
| align="left" dir="ltr" | *ʻayn
| align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|עַיִן, עָיִן}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | ʻáyin, ʻā́yin | align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|עֵינ־}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | ʻên- | eye |
| align="left" dir="ltr" | *ṣidq
| align="right" dir="rtl" | {{script/Hebrew|צֶדֶק}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | ṣéḏeq | align="right" dir="rtl" |{{script/Hebrew|צִדְק־ (צַדְק־?)}} | align="left" dir="ltr" | ṣiḏq-{{dubious|date=February 2022}} | righteousness |
The ancient forms like *CawC (such as šawr "bull") almost universally evolved to non-segolate CôC ({{script/Hebrew|שׁוֹר}} šôr), though there are exceptions, such as {{script/Hebrew|מָוֶת}} mā́weṯ "death".{{cn|date=February 2024}}
Some segolate words' final syllable ends with a patach rather than a segol, due to the influence of guttural consonants ({{script/Hebrew|ה}}, {{script/Hebrew|ע}}, {{script/Hebrew|א}}, {{script/Hebrew|ח}}) in the final syllable.{{cn|date=February 2024}}
Classical Arabic still preserves forms similar to the reconstructed Ancient Hebrew forms, although significantly simplified.{{cite journal |last1=Muraoka |first1=Takamitsu |title=Segolate Nouns in Biblical and Other Aramaic Dialects |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=1976 |volume=96 |issue=2 |pages=226–235 |doi=10.2307/599825 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/599825 |access-date=4 February 2024 |issn=0003-0279|url-access=subscription }} Examples include ʼarḍ "earth", kalb "dog", ʻayn "eye", ṣidq "sincerity".
Some modern dialects insert an epenthetic vowel between the final two consonants, similar to what happened in Hebrew.{{cn|date=February 2024}}