שושן

Hebrew

Etymology 1

Root
שׁ־שׁ־ן (sh-sh-n)

From Egyptian zšn. Compare Ancient Greek σοῦσον (soûson, “lily”) and Coptic ϣⲱϣⲉⲛ (šōšen).

Pronunciation

• (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʃoːˈʃɔːn/
• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʃoˈʃan/

Noun

שׁוֹשָׁן • (shoshán) m (plural indefinite שׁוֹשָׁנִים)

1. lily

Related terms

• שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (shoshaná)

References

• H7799 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible

Etymology 2

Ultimately from Elamite 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗 (šušen). Compare Old Persian 𐏂𐎢𐏁𐎠 (ç-u-š-a /⁠çūšā⁠/) and Ancient Greek Σοῦσα (Soûsa).

Pronunciation

• (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʃuːˈʃɔːn/
• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʃuˈʃan/

Proper noun

שׁוּשָׁן • (shushán)

1. Susa, Shushan (the ancient capital of Elam, in modern Iran)
   • Tanach, Esther 1:2, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם כְּשֶׁבֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ עַל כִּסֵּא מַלְכוּתוֹ אֲשֶׁר בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה׃

     bayamím hahém k'shévet hamélekh 'akhashverósh 'al kisé mal'khutó 'ashér b'shushan habirá.

     that in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the castle,

References

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

Further reading

• שושנאים on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he