שלו

Hebrew

Etymology 1

Preposition

שֶׁלּוֹ • (sheló)

1. Form of שֶׁל (shel) including third-person masculine singular personal pronoun as object.

   איפה הבן שלו? ― éifo habén sheló? ― Where is his son?

2. (archaic) Form of שֶׁלְּ־ (shel'-) including third-person masculine singular personal pronoun as object. (This sense was synonymous with the previous, but was only found in attributive use.)

Usage notes

• This form also frequently results from שֶׁ־ (she-) + לוֹ (lo).

Etymology 2

Adjective

שליו / שָׁלֵו • (shalév) (feminine שלווה / שְׁלֵוָה, masculine plural שלווים / שְׁלֵוִים, feminine plural שלוות / שְׁלֵווֹת)

1. peaceful, calm, serene

Proper noun

שָׁלֵו • (shalév) m

1. a male given name, Shalev

Usage notes

Three spellings are found: שלו, שליו, שלוו. In ktiv male (unvowelized spelling) rules, a final consonantal ו isn't marked, so the standard spelling is שלו, just like קו (kav, “line”), צו (tsav, “order”), and כסלו (Kislev). Some exceptions from Classical Hebrew add a י before consonantal ו: שליו (slav, “quail”), סתיו (stav, “autumn”), עניו (anáv, “humble”), עכשיו (akhsháv, “now”), and letter names וי״ו (va"v) and תי״ו (ta"v); in these cases, the preceding vowel is /a/, and an analogy is made with the pronominal suffix ־יו (where the י originates from the plural morpheme). In Mishnaic Hebrew, the identical spelling of שָׁלֵו (shalév, “tranquil”) and שְׂלָו (slav, “quail”) was exploited for midrashic interpretation (Yoma 75b). The Academy recommends writing the personal name שלו without י, though with י is also fine.

Etymology 3

Compare Arabic سَلْوَى (salwā), Judaeo-Aramaic סְלָו (səlāw), Classical Syriac ܣܠܘܝ (salway) and Soqotri شِلهِ (šílhi).

Noun

שליו / שְׂלָו • (slav) m (plural indefinite שליוים / שַׂלְוִים, singular construct שליו / שְׂלַו־, plural construct שליוי / שַׂלְוֵי־)

1. quail

References

• “שלו” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language

Further reading

• שליו on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he