Reconstruction:Proto-West Semitic/rūḥ-

This Proto-West Semitic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-West Semitic

Noun

*rūḥ-

wind, gust
animus, instinctive impulse (Triebwille) as opposed to rationally conditioned impulse (Zweckwille)

Related terms

*rawaḥ- (“to have open space or open up, to leave room free, to be forlet; to go out, to lapse, to leave; to breeze, to fan; to pass gas”) (form I)
*rawwiḥ- (“to widen, to give space to; to relieve”) (form II)
*harawaḥ- (“to make or allow to go out, to release; to amplify, to inflate”) (form IV)
*rīḥ- (“emission of gas; smell; flatus”)

Conjugation

Central Semitic:
- Arabic: رُوح (rūḥ, “spirit; breath of life”)
- Northwest Semitic:
  - Aramaic:
    - Classical Syriac: ܪܰܘܚܳܐ (rawḥā, “wind; animus, spirit”)
    - Christian Palestinian Aramaic: ܪܘܚ (“wind; soul, spirit”)
    - Biblical Aramaic, Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, Jewish Literary Aramaic, Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: רוּחָא (rūḥā, “wind; spirit”)
  - Canaanite:
    - Hebrew: רוּחַ (rúakh, rû́aḥ, “wind; spirit”)
    - Phoenician: *𐤓𐤇 (*rḥ)
      - Punic: 𐤓𐤇 (rḥ, “intent”)
  - Ugaritic: 𐎗𐎈 (rḥ /⁠rūḥu⁠/, “wind, gust”)
- Old South Arabian:
  - Old South Arabian: 𐩧𐩢 (rḥ, “spirit”)
Modern South Arabian:
- Mehri: rawḥ, rāʾeḥ (“spirit”)
- Shehri: roḥ, rabḥ (“spirit”)