שמלה

Hebrew

Etymology

Root
שׂ־מ־ל (s-m-l)
1 term

Uncertain, cognate with Arabic شَمْلَة (šamla, “mantle, cloak”) and both possibly deriving from the unused root שָׂמַל (samál) with the meaning of "to gird, surround".

Pronunciation

(Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /simˈla/
Audio: (file)

Noun

שִׂמְלָה • (simlá) f (plural indefinite שְׂמָלוֹת, singular construct שִׂמְלַת־, plural construct שִׂמְלוֹת־) [pattern: קִטְלָה]

(clothing) dress
- איה כורם, מילים
  כבר שבוע הוא לא מסתכל בך, וגם כשלבשת הטובה בַּשְׂמָלוֹת
(premodern) sheet, cover, garment (especially an outer garment)
Hyponyms: מְעִיל (“robe”), מַעֲטָפָה
- Tanach, Joshua 7:15, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:
  וַיִּקְרַע יְהוֹשֻׁעַ שִׂמְלֹתָיו וַיִּפֹּל עַל־פָּנָיו אַרְצָה לִפְנֵי אֲרוֹן יְהֹוָה עַד־הָעֶרֶב הוּא וְזִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲלוּ עָפָר עַל־רֹאשָׁם׃
  And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their heads.
- Tanach, Deuteronomy 22:17, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:
  וְהִנֵּה־הוּא שָׂם עֲלִילֹת דְּבָרִים לֵאמֹר לֹא־מָצָאתִי לְבִתְּךָ בְּתוּלִים וְאֵלֶּה בְּתוּלֵי בִתִּי וּפָרְשׂוּ הַשִּׂמְלָה לִפְנֵי זִקְנֵי הָעִיר׃
  And, lo, he hath laid wanton charges, saying: I found not in thy daughter the tokens of virginity; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the garment [bed sheet] before the elders of the city.

Declension

Declension of **שִׂמְלָה**
	isolated forms		with possessive pronouns
Number:	State:	form	Person:	singular		plural
Number:	State:	form	Person:	m	f	m	f
singular	indefinite	שִׂמְלָה	first	שִׂמְלָתִי		שִׂמְלָתֵנוּ
	definite	הַשִּׂמְלָה	second	שִׂמְלָתְךָ	שִׂמְלָתֵךְ	שִׂמְלַתְכֶם	שִׂמְלַתְכֶן
	construct	שִׂמְלַת־	third	שִׂמְלָתוֹ	שִׂמְלָתָהּ	שִׂמְלָתָם	שִׂמְלָתָן
plural	indefinite	שְׂמָלוֹת	first	שמלותיי / שִׂמְלוֹתַי		שִׂמְלוֹתֵינוּ
	definite	הַשְּׂמָלוֹת	second	שִׂמְלוֹתֶיךָ	שמלותייך / שִׂמְלוֹתַיִךְ	שִׂמְלוֹתֵיכֶם	שִׂמְלוֹתֵיכֶן
	construct	שִׂמְלוֹת־	third	שִׂמְלוֹתָיו	שִׂמְלוֹתֶיהָ	שִׂמְלוֹתָם	שִׂמְלוֹתָן

Notes

Ancient clothing around the Mediterranean primarily consisted of two pieces of clothing which were draped around the body: an undergarment worn close to the skin and a cloak or mantle on top of it. The Hebrews called the former a כותונת / כֻּתֹּנֶת (kutónet), while the latter was called simlá and corresponded to the Greek himation, which is also the only translation of this word found throughout the Septuagint.

References

H8071 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Klein, Ernest (1987) “שִׂמְלָה”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[1], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 666b
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 1596b
“שמלה” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language

Anagrams

שלמה