# קֵן



## amirsherman

Shalom everyone,

קֵן means nest. Why is the construct form with patach but the plural with chirik?

Thank you in advance


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## Drink

The plural is exactly as expected.

The real question is just why does the construct state have a patach?

The answer is probably something along the lines of Philippi's "law", which is a loose pattern of cases where short "i" becomes short "a" in a stressed closed syllable.


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## Abaye

Drink said:


> The real question is just why does the construct state have a patach?


In modern Hebrew the construct state is either קֵן or קַן. I don't know what's the historical development.


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## amikama

> כיצד מוסברת תנועת הפתח בצורה הנסמך המיוחדת קַן־? על רגל אחת אפשר לומר שמדובר בשינוי של תנועת i ל־a בסוג מסוים של הברות (בדרך כלל סגורות כפליים ומוטעמות). וזאת יש לדעת: הצירי במילה קֵן הוא גלגולה של התנועה i, תנועתה המקורית של המילה. שינוי זה הוא הסיבה להבדל למשל בין החיריק השני בפועל הִלְבִּישׁ לפתח בפועל הִלְבַּשְׁתִּי או בין הצירי במילה זָקֵן לפתח במילה זָקַנְתִּי. ואף לפתח במילה בַּת לעומת החיריק בנטייתה – בִּתִּי, בִּתּוֹ וכו'.


פרשת כי תצא – קן ציפור - האקדמיה ללשון העברית


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## Ali Smith

Drink said:


> The plural is exactly as expected.
> 
> The real question is just why does the construct state have a patach?
> 
> The answer is probably something along the lines of Philippi's "law", which is a loose pattern of cases where short "i" becomes short "a" in a stressed closed syllable.


But it's not stressed when it's in the construct state, is it?


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## Drink

Ali Smith said:


> But it's not stressed when it's in the construct state, is it?


It sort of is, and it sort of isn't. Here it also has a maqaf, complicating this matter.


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## utopia

amikama said:


> פרשת כי תצא – קן ציפור - האקדמיה ללשון העברית


actually there is something that I'm quite amazed the academy did not mention. צלמוות - Tsalmavet

Not Tsel Mavet.

It seems TSEL used to have that same construct state.


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## amikama

utopia said:


> actually there is something that I'm quite amazed the academy did not mention. צלמוות - Tsalmavet
> 
> Not Tsel Mavet.
> 
> It seems TSEL used to have that same construct state.


Is it established that צלמוות comes from צל + מוות?


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## Abaye

amikama said:


> Is it established that צלמוות comes from צל + מוות?


Not quite. The etymology is unclear, root צ-ל-מ = dark (with cognates in other Semitic languages) is the more popular theory.
צלמות - ויקימילון


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