חלון

Hebrew

FWOTD – 20 November 2019

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /χaˈlon/

Etymology 1

Root
ח־ל־ל (kh-l-l)

Compare Ugaritic 𐎈𐎍𐎐 (ḥln, “window”). The Ugaritic form makes unlikely the traditional association with חָלַל (“to pierce”), cognate with Arabic خَلَّ (ḵalla, “to bore, to punch”).

Noun

חַלּוֹן • (khalón) m or f (plural indefinite חַלּוֹנוֹת)

1. a window
   • Tanach, Ezekiel 40:16, with translation of the American Standard Version:

     וְחַלֹּנוֹת אֲטֻמוֹת אֶל הַתָּאִים

     wəḥallonoṯ ʔăṭumoṯ ʔɛl hatɔʔim

     And there were closed windows to the lodges

   • 1891, Hayim Nahman Bialik, To the Bird 1–2:

     שָׁלוֹם רָב שׁוּבֵךְ, צִפֹּרָה נֶחְמֶדֶת,
     מֵאַרְצוֹת הַחֹם אֶל־חַלּוֹנִי.

     Shalóm ráv shúvekh, tzipurá nekhmédet,
     me'artzót hakhóm el-khaloní.

     Welcome back to my window, lovely bird,
     On your return from the warm lands to my window.

2. (slang) a free period

Usage notes

• In modern Hebrew the word is usually masculine.

Derived terms

• חלון ראווה / חַלּוֹן רַאֲוָה (khalón ra'avá)

Etymology 2

Root
ח־ל־ן (kh-l-n)

Noun

חִלּוּן • (khilún) m

1. defective spelling of חילון

References

• “חלון” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language
• H2474 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible