רחוב
Hebrew
Etymology
Derived from the root רָחַב (rakháv, “to be wide, broad”), since it stood out in a town by being more open and wide. With the advent of Modern Hebrew the word experienced a semantic shift to "street".
Pronunciation
- (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA(key): /rəˈħoːv/
- (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA(key): /ʁeˈχov/
Noun
רְחוֹב • (rekhóv) m (plural indefinite רְחוֹבוֹת, singular construct רְחוֹב־, plural construct רְחוֹבוֹת־) [pattern: קְטוֹל]
- (Modern Israeli Hebrew) street
- (Biblical Hebrew) open square, market (an open place in a town where trials and markets were held)
- Tanach, Genesis 19:2, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:
- וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֶּה נָּא־אֲדֹנַי סוּרוּ נָא אֶל־בֵּית עַבְדְּכֶם וְלִינוּ וְרַחֲצוּ רַגְלֵיכֶם וְהִשְׁכַּמְתֶּם וַהֲלַכְתֶּם לְדַרְכְּכֶם וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֹּא כִּי בָרְחוֹב נָלִין׃
- And he said: ‘Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your way.’ And they said: ‘Nay; but we will abide in the broad place all night.’
- Tanach, 2 Chronicles 32:6, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:
- וַיִּתֵּן שָׂרֵי מִלְחָמוֹת עַל־הָעָם וַיִּקְבְּצֵם אֵלָיו אֶל־רְחוֹב שַׁעַר הָעִיר וַיְדַבֵּר עַל־לְבָבָם לֵאמֹר׃
- And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the broad place at the gate of the city, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying:
Usage notes
The meaning “open square” is never used in Modern Hebrew, not even as a borrowing in literature or flowery expressions. Instead, the words רחבה (r'khavá) and כיכר (kikár) are used in all contemporary contexts and registers. In the Hebrew Bible the word חוץ (khuts, “outside”) is usually used for "street". This usage survived in Modern Hebrew only in its plural form חוצות.
Declension
| isolated forms | with possessive pronouns | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number: | State: | form | Person: | singular | plural | ||
| m | f | m | f | ||||
| singular | indefinite | רְחוֹב | first | רְחוֹבִי | רְחוֹבֵנוּ | ||
| definite | הָרְחוֹב | second | רְחוֹבְךָ | רְחוֹבֵךְ | רְחוֹבְכֶם | רְחוֹבְכֶן | |
| construct | רְחוֹב־ | third | רְחוֹבוֹ | רְחוֹבָהּ | רְחוֹבָם | רְחוֹבָן | |
| plural | indefinite | רְחוֹבוֹת | first | רחובותיי / רְחוֹבוֹתַי | רְחוֹבוֹתֵינוּ | ||
| definite | הָרְחוֹבוֹת | second | רְחוֹבוֹתֶיךָ | רחובותייך / רְחוֹבוֹתַיִךְ | רְחוֹבוֹתֵיכֶם | רְחוֹבוֹתֵיכֶן | |
| construct | רְחוֹבוֹת־ | third | רְחוֹבוֹתָיו | רְחוֹבוֹתֶיהָ | רְחוֹבוֹתָם | רְחוֹבוֹתָן | |
Derived terms
- קֶרֶן רְחוֹב (kéren rekhóv)
See also
- רח׳ (“st.”) (abbreviation)
References
- H7339 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
- Klein, Ernest (1987) “רְחוֹב”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English[1], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 613a
- Jastrow, Marcus (1903) A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature[2], London, New York: Luzac & Co., G.P. Putnam's Sons, page 1465b
- “רחוב” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language