ምሕረት
Ge'ez
Etymology
Probably from Proto-Semitic *r-ḥ-m, via metathesis. Compare Arabic رَحِمَ (raḥima), Hebrew רָחַם (rakhám).
Alternatively, linked to Hebrew מָחַל (makhál, “forgive”), but this is semantically further and still requires a phonological shift; or to Egyptian mrj (“to love”), but this is likewise dubious.[1]
Noun
ምሕረት • (məḥrät) m or f (plural ምሕረታት)
- compassion, pity, commiseration
- Exodus 20:6
- ወእገብር ፡ ምሕረተ ፡ ለለ፲፻ለእለ ፡ ያፈቅሩኒ ፡ ወትእዛዝየ ፡ እለ ፡ የዐቅቡ ፡ ወለእለ ፡ የዐቅቡ ፡ ሕግየ ።
- wäʾgäbr məḥrätä lälä1000läʾlä yafäḳruni wätʾəzazyä ʾəlä yäʿäḳbu wäläʾlä yäʿäḳbu ḥəgyä .
- but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
- Exodus 20:6
References
- A. Murtonen (1989), “RXM”, in Hebrew in Its West Semitic Setting, Part I, Section Bb, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 397
Further reading
- Dillmann, August (1865), “ምሕረት”, in Lexicon linguae aethiopicae cum indice latino (in Latin), Leipzig: T. O. Weigel, column 158