דוגמה

Hebrew

Etymology 1

Root
ד־ג־ם (d-g-m)

From Aramaic דּוּגְמָא (dūḡmāʾ), from Ancient Greek δεῖγμα (deîgma), from the verb δείχνω (deíchno, “to point”).

Alternative forms

• דֻּגְמָה (dugmá) (defective spelling)
• דֻּגְמָא (dugmá), דוגמא (dugmá) (Aramaic spelling)

Noun

דּוּגְמָה / דֻּגְמָה • (dugmá) f (plural indefinite דוגמות / דֻּגְמוֹת or דוגמאות / דֻּגְמָאוֹת, singular construct דוגמת / דֻּגְמַת־)

1. an example, a sample, a specimen
   • c. 1735-43, Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, “146:9”, in Da'at Tevunoth‎^[1]:

     והנה אראך דבר נעים, איך לכל ההדרגה הזאת יש דוגמה בעולם:

     And here I will show you a pleasant thing, how all this gradation has an example in the world:

   • 1953, David Ben-Gurion, על העבר ועל העתיד (On the past and the future)‎^[2]:

     אנו מאמינים שיש ביכולתנו להנחיל לרוב הציבור השקפתנו וחזוננו בכוח הדוגמא והשכנוע ואמונתנו זו לא הכזיבה.

     We believe that we can instill in the majority of the public our view and vision by the power of example and persuasion, and our belief is no delusion.

2. a pattern

Usage notes

• As with other feminine loanwords from Aramaic, the Academy of the Hebrew Language recommends^[3] that דוגמה be written with a ה (h, “hei”) at the end rather than with an א (ʾ, “alef”) (as in Aramaic). Nonetheless, the Aramaic spellings are still common today, sometimes more common than the recommended spellings. In many cases the different plurals are used interchangeably.

Derived terms

• לדוגמה / לְדֻגְמָה (l'dugmá, “for example”)
• ד-ג-ם

References

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

Etymology 2

From various European languages, ultimately from Ancient Greek δόγμα (dógma, “opinion, tenet”), from δοκέω (dokéō, “I seem good, think”).

Noun

דּוֹגְמָה • (dog'má) f (plural indefinite דּוֹגְמוֹת, singular construct דּוֹגְמַת־)

1. dogma