Number: 1235
Proto-Semitic: *gišm-
Meaning: body
Biblical Aramaic: *gǝšēm (gišm- sg. suff., gešm- pl.suff.) [KB deutsch 1688]
Judaic Aramaic: gišmā, gušmā 'body, substance' [Ja 228, 274]; gšm 'body' [Sok 137], gwšmh 'body' [ibid. 125]
Syrian Aramaic: gušmā (constr. gǝšōm) 'corpus' [Brock 136]
Modern Aramaic: NASS güsmä 'body' [Tser 051]
Mandaic Aramaic: gišma, gušma 'body, person' [DM 92]
Arabic: ǧism- 'corps' [BK 1 294]
Amharic: ARG ǧism 'body' [LGur 319]
East Ethiopic: SEL ǧism, WOL ǧismä do. [ibid.]
Gurage: CHA EŽA MUH ǧisma, END ǧismä, GYE ǧisǝma, g'isǝma, MSQ ǧǝsm, GOG ǧǝsma, ENN g'isǝma do. [ibid.]
Mehri: gǝsēm 'body' [JM 126]
Jibbali: gɛ́sm 'body' [JJ 79]
Soqotri: gešómoh, pl. gišemiten 'femme'; múgšem 'garcon, fils' [LS 117]
Notes: While MSA (MHR and JIB) examples with -s- (instead of the expected -h- and -š-) may be Arabisms, those with š in SOQ are rather inherited MSA and SEM forms; of the presumed semantic shifts in SOQ, 'woman, wife' from 'body' is difficult, whereas 'boy, son' from 'body' is well attested in SEM, cf. AKK bišru 'small child' vs. *biŝr-/*baŝar- 'flesh with skin, (human) body' (No. ) and more examples in Introduction. As for the S. ETH examples, which are all Arabisms according to [LGur 319], Leslau's main (not verbalized) argument for this assertion seems to be -ǧ- instead of the expected -g-. However, this author admits ǧ "rarely" < *g in the presence of a front vowel [ibid. LVIII]; one wonders whether SEM *gišm- > S. ETH *ǧism- may be the case. Note HAḌ gs1m 'bâtir en construction massive' [Avanzini 263]; a meaning shift from 'body'?
[DRS 196]: ARM, ARB, ESA, MSA, ETH; [LS 117]: SOQ, ARB; [Brock 136]: SYR, ARM, ARB
semet-proto,semet-prnum,semet-meaning,semet-bib,semet-jud,semet-syr,semet-new,semet-mnd,semet-ara,semet-amh,semet-east,semet-gur,semet-mhr,semet-jib,semet-soq,semet-notes,