View source for Segolate

{{more citations needed|date=December 2024}}
'''Segolates''' are words in the [[Hebrew languages|Hebrew language]] whose end is of the form CVCVC, where the [[penult]]imate 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 languages|Semitic]] words that ended in a complex [[Syllable#Coda|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}}
{|
!*[[Biblical Hebrew|Ancient]]
! colspan="2" | [[Tiberian vocalization|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.<ref name="muraoka">{{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 }}</ref> 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}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Hebrew language}}

[[Category:Hebrew language]]

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