תחש

Hebrew

Etymology

Root
ת־ח־שׁ (t-kh-sh)

Compare Arabic دُخَس (duḵas). In the “badger” sense, a phono-semantic matching of German Dachs.

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ˈta.χaʃ/
• (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ta.ˈħaʃ/

Noun

תַּחַשׁ • (tákhash) m

1. (Biblical Hebrew) a kind of animal whose skin was used for the outer coverings of the tabernacle
2. (Modern Israeli Hebrew) sea cow
3. (historical, obsolete) badger
4. (Modern Israeli Hebrew) dachshund, from a clipping of כֶּלֶב תַּחַשׁ (kéleḇ taḥáš)

   Synonym: דָּקֶל (dákel, dā́qēl)

Usage notes

• Most scholars agree that the term likely refered to sea cows, based on local bedouins' use of sea cow skins for similar purposes as the ones mentioned in the Bible. Though some translators believe it might have refered to the term might have refered to the skin's color rather than the animal it was sourced from.

References

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

Further reading

• תחש on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he