# Sequentialism in Hebrew derivation?



## Michael Zwingli

Did ancient Hebrew, or does Modern Hebrew, employ serial/sequential suffixation in word derivation? If yes, may I see some examples thereof? Thanks much.


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## Drink

Do you mean can a word have multiple suffixes? Or do you mean can a word have an unbounded number of suffixes? What exactly do you mean?


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## Michael Zwingli

Drink said:


> Do you mean can a word have multiple suffixes?


Yes, @Drink, that is precisely what I mean. Not necessarily an "unbounded number", but two or three, for instance... Hebrew uses suffixation to show number, case, tense, possession, and other grammatical things. Are these suffixes ever used together in sequence, as in the English word _sequentially_, which is _sequence_ with the suffixes _-al_ + _-ly_.


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## Drink

Here's a rather extreme example:
- משמע (borrowed from Talmudic Aramaic) = "means, implies"
- משמעות (suffix ות) = "meaning" (as a noun)
- משמעותי (suffix י) = "meaningful"
- משמעותיות (suffix ות, _again_) = "meaningfulness"
- משמעותיותו (suffix ו) = "its/his meaningfulness"

Here's a more typical example:
- צוואר = "neck"
- צווארון (suffix ון) = "collar"
- צווארונים (suffix ים) = "collars"
- צווארוניהם (suffix הם) = "their collars"


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## Michael Zwingli

Thanks much, @Drink. A couple more questions, if I may. I assume that the suffix showing possession is generally the final suffixation of a word? Is it ever the case that a suffix _replaces_ rather than _follows_ another in Hebrew word derivation?


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## Drink

Yes, the possessive suffixes cannot be followed by any other as far as I know.

As for replacement: this happens with pluralization of nouns with a feminine marker suffix (regardless of whether it takes the masculine-form plural suffix or the feminine-form plural suffix). For example:
- שנה šana > שנים šanim
- שפה safa > שפות safot
- כתובת ktovet > כתובות ktovot
- רכבת rakevet > רכבות rakavot

But this does not happen with the dual suffix:
- שפה safa > שפתיים sfatayim (note that the feminine marker -a alway becomes -at or -t before a suffix)

I'm not including in this phenomenon cases where two suffixes meld together into a special form, because that is fundamentally a different phenomenon from replacement.


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## Michael Zwingli

Thanks very much, Drink! You have been remarkably helpful. I wonder what you think might have been the purpose of dual forms such as you mentioned. Ancient Greek had them, as well, and I could never understand what purpose they might have served (but never thought the matter important enough to ask). I mean: plural is plural, no?


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## Drink

If you think about it, there is no "purpose" to plural forms either. You could just as well say "one apple", "two apple", "three apple", "many apple". But language doesn't always develop for a "purpose", it most often just develops by accident.

But do note that in Hebrew, the dual is used differently from the plural in that you don't say "two" together with the dual, but just use the dual by itself since the number is already known.


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## Michael Zwingli

Say, @Drink, I have discerned one more question pertaining to this. How would one formulate the meaning "his female horse" in the hypothetical sentence "The stallion is mine, but this is his mare (female horse)"? Of course: סוּס (_sus_ = "horse"), and וֹ‎- (_cholam male_ = "his") and ה‎ ָָ- (_kamatz_ and _he_ = feminizing suffix), but in what combination should they appear in the final word?


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## Drink

As I mentioned above, the -a suffix becomes -at before another suffix.

So "my female horse" is סוסתי susati.


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