ספינתא

Aramaic

Alternative forms

ܣܦܝܢܬܐ (sǝp̄īntā) (Syriac)

Etymology

Natively connected to Imperial Aramaic 𐡎𐡐𐡍𐡀 (sp̄enā, “plank”) because a ship is planked, which is itself however an obscure word. As well as it has passed into other Semitic languages – due to the sound-correspondences of the first consonant cognateship is unlikely – and is declined irregularly, and the spirantization of or presence of a dagesh in the middle consonant in the Aramaic word seems to vary, a borrowed culture-word of the Euphrates.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /səfintɑ/, /səpintɑ/

Noun

סְפִינִתָּא • (sǝp̄īntā) f (plural סְפִינָתָא (sǝp̄īnātā) or סְפִינֵא (sǝp̄īnē))

ship

Descendants

→ Arabic: سَفِينَة (safīna)
- Gulf Arabic: سفينة (safīna)
- South Levantine Arabic: سفينة (safīne)
- → Kurdish
  - Northern Kurdish: sefîne
- → Ottoman Turkish: سفینه (sefine)
  - Turkish: sefine
- → Persian: سفینه (safine)
- → Swahili: safina
→ Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܣܦܝܼܢܬܵܐ (spīntā)
→ Neo-Babylonian: 𒊓𒉿𒈾𒀀𒌓 (sa-pi-na-a-tu₂ /⁠sapīnatu, sapinnatu, šappinatu⁠/)
→ Hebrew: סְפִינָה (səp̄īnā́, “ship”)

References

Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, pages 216–217
Guidi, Ignazio (1879) Della sede primitiva dei popoli semitici (in Italian), Rome: Tipi del Salviucci, pages 37–38 footnote 10
Kaufman, Stephen A. (1974) The Akkadian Influences on Aramaic (The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago Assyriological Studies; 19)‎^[1], Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 48 note 86
Wagner, Max (1966) Die lexikalischen und grammatikalischen Aramaismen im alttestamentlichen Hebräisch (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft; 96) (in German), Berlin: Alfred Töpelmann, →ISBN, page 88
“spn²”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
“ˀspnˀ”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
“spynh”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
“ספינתא”, in The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD)‎^[2], volume 15, S, Chicago: University of Chicago Oriental Institute, 1984, page 164