תשבץ

Hebrew

Etymology

Root
שׁ־ב־ץ (sh-b-ts)
2 terms

Biblical hapax legomenon derived from שיבץ / שִׁבֵּץ (shibéts, “to interweave, checker”). The modern sense comes from the fact that a crossword puzzle is divided into boxes, reminding of a checkered pattern.

Pronunciation

(Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /taʃˈbet͡s/

Noun

תַּשְׁבֵּץ • (tashbéts) m [pattern: תַּקְטֵל]

(Biblical Hebrew) interwoven, checkered garment (having a box-like pattern)
- Tanach, Exodus 28:4, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:
  וְאֵלֶּה הַבְּגָדִים אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשׂוּ חֹשֶׁן וְאֵפוֹד וּמְעִיל וּכְתֹנֶת תַּשְׁבֵּץ מִצְנֶפֶת וְאַבְנֵט וְעָשׂוּ בִגְדֵי־קֹדֶשׁ לְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ וּלְבָנָיו לְכַהֲנוֹ־לִי׃
  And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a tunic of chequer work, a mitre, and a girdle; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office.
(Modern Israeli Hebrew) crossword puzzle

Derived terms

תַּשְׁחֵץ (tash'khéts)

Notes

The tunic worn by the kohanim was fully made of white linen, making the pattern only visible at a close glance.

References

H8665 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Klein, Ernest (1987) “תַּשְׁבֵּץ”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[1], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 719c