תנשמת

Hebrew

Root
נ־שׁ־ם (n-sh-m)

Pronunciation

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Noun

תִּנְשֶׁמֶת • (tinshémet) f (plural indefinite תִּנְשָׁמוֹת)

1. barn owl, the bird Tyto alba
   • Tanach, Deuteronomy 14:16, with translation of the New International Version:

     אֶת-הַכּוֹס וְאֶת-הַיַּנְשׁוּף וְהַתִּנְשָׁמֶת

     et hakós veét hayanshúf vehatinshémet

     the little owl, the great owl, the white owl

2. (biblical) one of the eight unclean animals, whose identity is unknown. Probably the chameleon.
   • Tanach, Leviticus 11:29-30, with translation of the New International Version:

     וְזֶה לָכֶם הַטָּמֵא בַּשֶּׁרֶץ הַשֹּׁרֵץ עַל-הָאָרֶץ הַחֹלֶד וְהָעַכְבָּר וְהַצָּב לְמִינֵהוּ : וְהָאֲנָקָה וְהַכֹּחַ וְהַלְּטָאָה וְהַחֹמֶט וְהַתִּנְשָׁמֶת

     vəzé lachém hatamé bashéretz hashorétz 'al haáretz haḥóled vəha'achbár vəhatzáv ləminéhu : vəhaanaqá vəhakóaḥ vəhalətaá vəhaḥómet vəhatinshémet

     Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard. The gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon.

References

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

Further reading

• תנשמת on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he