# שנייה / שנית



## airelibre

The title says it all, can someone explain to me the difference between shniyah and shenit, since the list of ordinal numbers I'm learning from has both but with no explanation.

Thanks.


----------



## ks20495

שנייה is the ordinal number.

שנית is an adverb that means something like "again". It's used in expressions like:
הוא התחתן בשנית = He got remarried
...שנית כל = Second of all.../Secondly...

I think that in older forms of Hebrew שנית was also used as an ordinal number. I would assume that is the reason it is listed as equivalent to שנייה. But, just to reiterate, in Modern Hebrew, only שנייה is used as ordinal number:
האישה השנייה 
האישה השנית


----------



## airelibre

בסדר, תודה רבה!


----------



## OsehAlyah

I thought Shniya שניה only referred to the second as a time measurement, and Sheni שני is used to indicate second as opposed to first (i.e. ordinal). Now I'm confused.


----------



## ks20495

שנייה is just the feminine of שני.


----------



## OsehAlyah

ks20495 said:


> שנייה is just the feminine of שני.


Ahhhh but of course.  Now I just need to learn how to say Doh! in Hebrew and I'll be set. 

תודה רבה ושבת שלום


----------



## origumi

ks20495 said:


> שנייה is just the feminine of שני.


I guess that שנייה as a time unit is not only the feminine of שני but also a participle of root שנה (to repeat) and refers to the way seconds are sequencing each other. Otherwise the word is meaningless.


----------



## Egmont

origumi said:


> I guess that שנייה as a time unit is not only the feminine of שני but also a participle of root שנה (to repeat) and refers to the way seconds are sequencing each other. Otherwise the word is meaningless.


I suspect it's a direct translation of the English word "second," which has the same two meanings (as well as others). Does anyone here really know?


----------



## origumi

Egmont said:


> I suspect it's a direct translation of the English word "second," which has the same two meanings (as well as others). Does anyone here really know?


It seems that my (and your) guesses above are wrong. Second (as a time unit) neither directly related to Latin sequor (to sequence) nor borrowed from English. It's a second division of time, when the first division is to minutes. The word (in Hebrew) goes back to Medieval times and Maimonides, based on Latin. See here:



> המונח "שנייה" במשמעות "החלק השישים" נמצא אצל הרמב"ם והוא מתייחס לחלק השישים של הדקה, וגם לחלק השישים של הקשת בגיאומטריה. יוצרי העברית של ימי הביניים הלכו בעקבות הלטינית כמו יתר השפות שהושפעו ממנה, כולל האנגלית. הלטינית קבעה את minuta לציון דקה, החלק השישים של השעה, כאשר משמעות המילה היא "קטן יותר", או "קטן מאוד", (ומכאן גם מיני, מינורי, מינוס וכדומה): pars minuta prima - החלק הראשון הקטן ביותר. כשחילקו את הדקה קבעו כי מדובר בחלוקה השנייה (secunda) של הזמן. וכך התגלגלה "שנייה" במשמעות "מי שבאה אחרי הראשונה" ל"שנייה" במשמעות היחידה הקטנה של הזמן.


http://www.keter-books.co.il/p-21_a-30/
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/second#Etymology_2


----------

