# מומחיות



## talmid

211210      1151

G'Day !

Could anyone  please enlighten me on:

the 3 or 2 letter root 
& the etymology of the word
"Moomkhiyut" ?

My apologies for the transliteration of the word, due to my being unable, at present, to access Ivrit fonts

Thank you


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## ks20495

מ-ח-י

The משקל is מֻפְעַל - the present tense, passive form of בניין הפעיל.


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## berndf

ks20495 said:


> מ-ח-י


I didn't find such a root? Do you really mean מ-ח-י or maybe מ-ח-ה?


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## ks20495

מ-ח-י and מ-ח-ה are the same root. It's more common, however, to write such roots with a 'י.


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## talmid

241210    0213

G'Day !

I've entered in the (Milon) online dictionary both:

מחה -    produces                     protest
&
מחי   -   also produces               protest

As neither of the above  roots suggested to date seems to produce any reference at all to
expertise or מומחיות
I would much  appreciate some further responses as to the root of מומחיות , 
if anyone has additional ideas, please,

Thank you


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## origumi

talmid said:


> מחה - produces protest
> &
> מחי - also produces protest
> 
> As neither of the above roots suggested to date seems to produce any reference at all to
> expertise or מומחיות


That's because in modern Hebrew the "expert" meaning doesn't exist in pa`al, only in hitpa`el and huf`al. In rich dictionaries, like Even Shushan, you will find it under מחה. In online dictionaries you can try מומחה, מתמחה, מומחיות, התמחות.

Some used to think that מומחה is based on Arabic (for example Kohut חנוך יהודה קאהוט) or related to מוח brain (for example ישראל חיים טביוב). I don't know is such opinions are regarded as relevant any more.


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## talmid

261210   0225

Hi !

Thanks for your replies.


I hope that my further enquiries  (made after first verifying with Milon what their translation is, against an entry term of " מחי )"
do not seem foolish and would like to enquire further, please:

a.What word might the Hebrews have used in, say, the Roman or middle-age period for "expert" ?
Please insert nekudot with replies, if possible. Thanks.

b. accepting that  מחי
may be the root, 
why, do you suppose that Milon, in response to an enquiry to translate
מחי
would only suggest:

"  adj. alive, living, vivid, kicking, quick, animate, animated, denizen; live, spot

למחות
v. to protest   "

and make no reference whatsoever to the possibility of the root referring to expertise  ?

I would appreciate learning of any views on this.
Thank you


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## origumi

There are some verbs that look similar, and also the מ can be regarded as not part of the root. Therefore online dictionaries, especially those who analyze the word (like Morfix), may offer:
* מחי (of root מחא) - clap, stroke
* מחי - from a living thing (מ-חי)
* מחה - to protest
* מחה - to erase

I am sure that there are several ways to say "expert" in biblical Hebrew. One possible way in the Gemara is בַּר-סַמְכָא = dependable (in regard to knowledge), an Aramaic form (although root סמכ exists also in Hebrew). Another one is בָּקִי (of root בקא), I think that this too is from Aramaic.


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## Ali Smith

ks20495 said:


> מ-ח-י
> 
> The משקל is מֻפְעַל - the present tense, passive form of בניין הפעיל.


But then shouldn't the vowel under the first letter have been a קָמַץ קָטָן? I mean מָמְחֶה rather than מֻמְחֶה. I'm assuming you mean "an expert".


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## Drink

While in Biblical Hebrew, the passive of Hif'il can have either a qamatz qatan or a kubbutz, in Modern Hebrew it basically always has a qubbutz if the first root letter is not a guttural.


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