Etymology

From the root ܫ-ܡ-ܥ ‎(š-m-ʿ) related to hearing, from Proto-Semitic. Cognate with Akkadian 𒄑𒌇 ‎(šemû), Arabic سَمِعَ ‎(samiʿa), Hebrew שָׁמַע ‎(šāmaʿ), and Ugaritic 𐎌𐎎𐎓 ‎(šmʿ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʃ(ə)maʕ]