Shin-

Lamedh Lamedh or lamed is the twelfth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Hebrew ''lāmeḏ'' , Aramaic ''lāmaḏ'' 𐡋, Syriac ''lāmaḏ'' ܠ, Arabic ''lām'' , and Phoenician ''lāmd'' 𐤋. Its sound value is . It is also related to the A ...

- Mem is a

triconsonantal The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or " radicals" (hence the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of actual words by adding the vowel ...

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

of many Semitic words (many of which are used as names). The root meaning translates to "whole, safe, intact, unharmed, to go free, without blemish". Its earliest known form is in the name of

Shalim Shalim (Šalām, Shalem, ) is a god in Canaanite religion, mentioned in inscriptions found in Ugarit (now Ras Shamra, Syria).Golan, 2003, p. 82. "The name of the Canaanite deity of the setting sun Salim, or Salem, ..The names Shahar_(god).ht ...

, the ancient god of dusk of

Ugarit Ugarit (; , ''ủgrt'' /ʾUgarītu/) was an ancient port city in northern Syria about 10 kilometers north of modern Latakia. At its height it ruled an area roughly equivalent to the modern Latakia Governorate. It was discovered by accident in 19 ...

. Derived from this are meanings of "to be safe, secure, at peace", hence "well-being, health" and passively "to be secured, pacified, submitted". * Central Semitic ''Š-L-M'' **, ''S-L-M'' *** **, ''Š-L-M'' **

Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...

ite: ''Š-L-M'' (cf. Shalem) **

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: , ''Š-L-M'' (

Paleo-Hebrew The Paleo-Hebrew script (), also Palaeo-Hebrew, Proto-Hebrew or Old Hebrew, is the writing system found in Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, including pre-Biblical and Biblical Hebrew, from southern Canaan, also known as the biblical kingdoms o ...

𐤔-𐤋-𐤌;

Samaritan Hebrew Samaritan Hebrew () is a reading tradition used liturgically by the Samaritans for reading the Biblical Hebrew, Ancient Hebrew language of the Samaritan Pentateuch. For the Samaritans, Ancient Hebrew ceased to be a spoken everyday language. It ...

ࠔ-ࠋ-ࠌ) *

East Semitic The East Semitic languages are one of three divisions of the Semitic languages. The East Semitic group is attested by three distinct languages, Akkadian, Eblaite and possibly Kishite, all of which have been long extinct. They were influenced ...

''S-L-M'' * South Semitic "S-L-M" **, ''S-L-M'' Arabic (), Maltese ''sliem'', Hebrew (), Ge'ez (), Syriac ''šlama'' (pronounced Shlama, or Shlomo in the Western Syriac dialect) (), Mandaic ''šlama'' () are cognate Semitic terms for 'peace', deriving from a

Proto-Semitic Proto-Semitic is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Semitic languages. There is no consensus regarding the location of the linguistic homeland for Proto-Semitic: scholars hypothesize that it may have originated in the Levant, the Sahara, ...

''*šalām-''. Given names related to the same root include

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

( Süleyman),

Absalom Absalom ( , ), according to the Hebrew Bible, was an Israelite prince. Born to David and Maacah, who was from Geshur, he was the only full sibling of Tamar. He is described in the Hebrew Bible as being exceptionally beautiful, as is his siste ...

Selim Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to: People *Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin **Salim (poet) (1800–1866), Kurdish poet **Saleem (playwright), Palestinian-American gay Muslim playwright, actor, DJ, and dancer * ...

, Salem, Salim, Salma, Salmah, Salman, Selimah, Shelimah, Salome, Szlama (Polish) etc. Arabic (and by extension Maltese), Hebrew, Ge'ez, and

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

have cognate expressions meaning 'peace be upon you' used as a greeting: * Arabic: '' As-salāmu ʻalaykum'' () is used to greet others and is an Arabic equivalent of 'hello'. The appropriate response to such a greeting is "and upon you be peace" ('' wa-ʻalaykum as-salām''). ** Maltese: . *Hebrew: '' Shālôm ʻalêḵem'' () is the equivalent of the Arabic expression, the response being ''ʻAlêḵem shālôm'', 'upon you be peace'. * Ge'ez: ''Selami ālikayimi'' () * Neo-Aramaic: ''šlámaloxun'', ''Šlama 'lokh'' (), classically, ''Šlām lakh'' .

East Semitic

In the Amarna letters, a few of the 382 letters discuss the exchange of "peace gifts", greeting-gifts (Shulmani) between the

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

and the other ruler involving the letter. Examples are Zita (Hittite prince), and Tushratta of

Mitanni Mitanni (–1260 BC), earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, ; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat in Assyrian records, or in Ancient Egypt, Egyptian texts, was a Hurrian language, Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria (region), Syria an ...

. Also, Kadashman-Enlil of

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

, ( Karduniaš of the letters). ''Šalām'' (''shalamu'') is also used in letter introductions to express the authors' health. An example letter EA19, from Tushratta to Pharaoh, states: :''"...the king of Mittani, your brother. For me all'' ''goes well''. ''For you may all'' ''go well."'' (lines 2-4) In Akkadian: * Salimatu "alliance" * Salimu "peace, concord" * Shalamu "to be(come) whole, safe; to recover; to succeed, prosper" * Shulmu "health, well-being"; also a common greeting

Arabic

The Arabic word ''salām'' is used in a variety of expressions and contexts in Arabic and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic speech and writing. "Al-Salām" is one of the 99

names of God in Islam Names of God in Islam () are 99 names that each contain Attributes of God in Islam, which are implied by the respective names. These names usually denote his praise, gratitude, commendation, glorification, magnification, perfect attributes, ...

, and also a male given name in conjunction with '' ''. ʻAbd al-Salām translates to 'Slave of he embodiment ofPeace', i.e. of

Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...

. * '' '' 'Peace' * '' '' 'Peace be upon you' * ' 'Submission' * ' 'One who submits' * ' – 'Delivering peace – giving a salutation or a submission' * ' – 'The act of submitting (oneself), surrenderring' * ' – 'One who submits (oneself), surrenders' * ' – 'subject of ''SLM'' – its SLM, 'the vase is SLM', 'the vase is whole, unbroken' * ' – 'undisputed' *

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

: in the

rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

: ' '

Hail Mary The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the ...

'. In Maltese: * Sliem – 'peace' * Sellem – 'to greet, to salute'

Arabic ''Islām''

The word ' is a

verbal noun Historically, grammarians have described a verbal noun or gerundial noun as a verb form that functions as a noun. An example of a verbal noun in English is 'sacking' as in the sentence "The ''sacking'' of the city was an epochal event" (wherein ...

derived from ''s-l-m'', meaning "submission" (i.e. entrusting one's wholeness to a higher force), which may be interpreted as

humility Humility is the quality of being humble. The Oxford Dictionary, in its 1998 edition, describes humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness. However, humility involves having an accurate opinion of oneself and expressing oneself mode ...

. "One who submits" is signified by the participle , ' (fem. , '). The word is given a number of meanings in the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

. In some verses ('' ''), the quality of Islam as an internal conviction is stressed: "Whomsoever God desires to guide, He expands his breast to Islam." Other verses connect ''islām'' and ''

dīn Dīn (, also anglicized as Deen) is an Arabic word with three general senses: judgment, custom, and religion. It is used by both Muslims and Arab Christians. In Islamic terminology, the word refers to the way of life Muslims must adopt to co ...

'' (usually translated as "religion"): "Today, I have perfected your religion (') for you; I have completed My blessing upon you; I have approved Islam for your religion." Still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith.

Given names

*Salam ( ') * Salman ( ') * Salim ( ') *Selim (, originally: ') *Suleim ( ') * Suleiman ( ')

Northwest Semitic

The

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

text uses '' eirēnē'' () for 'peace', which perhaps represents

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

saying 'šlama'; this Greek form became the northern feminine name Irene. In the

Epistle An epistle (; ) is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The ...

s, it often occurs alongside the usual Greek greeting ''chairein'' () in the phrase 'grace and peace'. However, comparison of the Greek

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

and Hebrew Masoretic

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

texts shows some instances where ''shalom'' was translated instead as ''soteria'' (, meaning 'salvation'). In

: * Shalom * Mushlam () – perfect * Shalem () – whole, complete * Lehashlim () – to complete, fill in; to reconcile * Leshallem () – to pay * Tashlum () – payment * Shillumim () – reparations * Lehishtallem () – to be worth it, to "pay" *

() – a personal name, literally means 'Father fPeace'. In

: * Shlama – 'peace' * Shalmuta

Given names

* Shlomi ( or ) *

, Shlomo () * Shlomit () * Shulamit ()

References

{{Semitic roots Triconsonantal roots

East Semitic

Arabic

Arabic ''Islām''

Given names

Northwest Semitic

Given names

See also

References