אישה

Hebrew

Etymology 1

Root
א־נ־שׁ (ʾ-n-sh)
7 terms

From Proto-Semitic *ʔanθ-at-. Cognate with Ugaritic 𐎀𐎘𐎚 (ảṯt), Aramaic אִנְתְּתָא (ʾintəṯā), אִיתְּתָא (ʾittəṯā), Arabic أُنْثَى (ʔunṯā).

False cognate of Hebrew אִישׁ (ísh, “man”), as Semitic š and ṯ merged into Hebrew שׁ. See female and woman for similar convergent developments involving influence or analogy.

Alternative forms

אשה (defective spelling, formerly standard)

Pronunciation

(Biblical Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʔiʃˈʃa/
(Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʔiʃˈʃɔː/, [ʔiʃˈʃɔː]
(Yemenite Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʔiʃˈʃɔ/, [ʔiʃˈʃɔː]
(Persian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(ʔ)iʃˈʃɒ/
(Ashkenazi Hebrew) IPA^(key): /iˈʃɔ/
(Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(ʔ)iˈʃa/
- Audio: (file)
- Audio: (file)

Noun

אישה / אִשָּׁה • (ishá) f (plural indefinite נָשִׁים, singular construct אֵשֶׁת־, plural construct נְשׁוֹת־ or נְשֵׁי־, masculine counterpart אִישׁ) [pattern: קִטְלָה]

woman (an adult female human)
wife (a married woman, especially in relation to her spouse)
Synonym: אֵשֶׁת אִישׁ (éshet ish)
(Biblical Hebrew) a female animal
- Tanach, Genesis 7:2, with translation of the King James Version:
  מִכֹּל הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה תִּקַּח לְךָ שִׁבְעָה שִׁבְעָה אִישׁ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וּמִן הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא טְהֹרָה הִוא שְׁנַיִם אִישׁ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ׃
  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

Usage notes

Traditionally, the defective spelling אשה was preferred when referring to a woman or wife to distinguish that sense from the near-homophone אִישָׁהּ (isháh, “her husband”), a combination of אִישׁ (ish, “man; husband”) and ־ָהּ (-ah, “her …”). This convention, however, has largely been abandoned in favour of a unified spelling אישה, which is also what the Hebrew Academy recommends. In practice, the ambiguity is either resolved by way of context clues or avoided altogether with the synonym בַּעֲלָהּ (ba'aláh).

Declension

Declension of אִשָּׁה
	isolated forms		with possessive pronouns
Number:	State:	form	Person:	singular		plural
Number:	State:	form	Person:	m	f	m	f
singular	indefinite	אִשָּׁה	first	אִשְׁתִּי		אִשְׁתֵּנוּ
	definite	הָאִשָּׁה	second	אִשְׁתְּךָ	אִשְׁתֵּךְ	אִשְׁתְּכֶם	אִשְׁתְּכֶן
	construct	אֵשֶׁת־	third	אִשְׁתּוֹ	אִשְׁתָּהּ	אִשְׁתָּם	אִשְׁתָּן
plural	indefinite	נָשִׁים	first	נשותיי / נְשׁוֹתַי		נְשׁוֹתֵינוּ
	definite	הַנָּשִׁים	second	נְשׁוֹתֶיךָ	נשותייך / נְשׁוֹתַיִךְ	נְשׁוֹתֵיכֶם	נְשׁוֹתֵיכֶן
	construct	נְשׁוֹת־	third	נְשׁוֹתָיו	נְשׁוֹתֶיהָ	נְשׁוֹתָם	נְשׁוֹתָן
plural	indefinite	נָשִׁים	first	נשיי / נָשַׁי		נָשֵׁינוּ
	definite	הַנָּשִׁים	second	נָשֶׁיךָ	נשייך / נָשַׁיִךְ	נְשֵׁיכֶם	נְשֵׁיכֶן
	construct	נְשֵׁי־	third	נָשָׁיו	נָשֶׁיהָ	נְשֵׁיהֶם	נְשֵׁיהֶן

References

H802 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Kogan, Leonid (2011), “Proto-Semitic Lexicon”, in Weninger, Stefan, editor, The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook (Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft – Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science; 36), Berlin: De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 233
“אישה” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language

Etymology 2

Noun

אִישָׁהּ • (isháh)

singular form of אִישׁ (ish)‎ with third-person feminine singular personal pronoun as possessor

Etymology 3

Related to אֵשׁ (ésh, “fire”), which is from Proto-Semitic *ʾiš-.

Pronunciation

(Biblical Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʔiʃˈʃe/
(Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʔiʃˈʃɛ/, [ʔiʃˈʃɛː]
(Yemenite Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʔiʃˈʃa/, [ʔiʃˈʃæː]
(Persian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(ʔ)iʃˈʃe/
(Ashkenazi Hebrew) IPA^(key): /iˈʃɛ/
(Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(ʔ)iˈʃe/

Noun

אישה / אִשֶּׁה • (ishé) f (plural indefinite אישים / אִשִּׁים, singular construct אישה / אִשֵּׁה־, plural construct אישי / אִשֵּׁי־)

(biblical) burnt offering

Synonyms

עוֹלָה (olá)

References

H801 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Kogan, Leonid (2011), “Proto-Semitic Lexicon”, in Weninger, Stefan, editor, The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook (Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft – Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science; 36), Berlin: De Gruyter, →ISBN, pages 194-195