The word מו

Classical Hebrew morphology and syntax, aspect, linguistics, discourse analysis, and related topics
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Kenneth Greifer
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The word מו

Post by Kenneth Greifer »

I see the word מו listed in my dictionary as something like "like". Does this word exist?

It says it is a variant of במו.
Kenneth Greifer
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SteveMiller
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Re: The word מו

Post by SteveMiller »

mo does not show up in a Bibleworks search. Nor is it found in HALOT.
bmo has 10 hits.
HALOT says that bmo is composed of the prefix ב + indeterminate מָה
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Steve Miller
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Honesty is the best policy. - George Washington (1732-99)
Kenneth Greifer
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Re: The word מו

Post by Kenneth Greifer »

Steve,

Thank you for looking it up. I forgot my dictionary also says it is a variant of כמו "like."
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SteveMiller
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Re: The word מו

Post by SteveMiller »

Kenneth,
HALOT 's entry on בְּמוֹ also ref's כמו and לְמוֹ .
For cmo it says it is formed from כְּ + mo< ma)= (מָה ). I don't know what the < means.
for lmo, it just says fuller form of ל
Sincerely yours,
Steve Miller
Detroit
http://www.voiceInWilderness.info
Honesty is the best policy. - George Washington (1732-99)
Isaac Fried
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Re: The word מו

Post by Isaac Fried »

The ending O of מוֹ is, as I see it, the contracted personal pronoun הוּא, 'he', for the referenced object. For instance, Isaiah 43:2
כִּי תֵלֵךְ בְּמוֹ אֵשׁ לֹא תִכָּוֶה וְלֶהָבָה לֹא תִבְעַר בָּךְ
NIV: "When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."
Here הוּא is the fire.

I recall the useful, newly coined, Hebrew words, stacked also upon מה
מַהוּת = מה-הוּא-את, 'essence, nature, character'
מַהוּתִי = מהוּת-היא, 'essential, fundamental; material'
מַהוּתִיּוּת = מהוּתי-הוּא-את, 'essentiality, fundamentality'

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Isaac Fried
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Re: The word מו

Post by Isaac Fried »

The Hebrew מוֹ MO corresponds to the Aramaic גוֹ GO (related to גֵו, 'body') as in Daniel 3:24-25
הֲלָא גֻבְרִין תְּלָתָה רְמֵינָא לְגוֹא נוּרָא מְכַפְּתִין עָנַיִן וְאָמְרִין לְמַלְכָּא יַצִּיבָא מַלְכָּא. עָנֵה וְאָמַר הָא אֲנָה חָזֵה גֻּבְרִין אַרְבְּעָה שְׁרַיִן מַהְלְכִין בְּגוֹ נוּרָא
NIV: “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into (לְגוֹא) the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in (בְּגוֹ) the fire”

Isaac Fried, Boston University
Isaac Fried
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Re: The word מו

Post by Isaac Fried »

The uniliteral root, the constituent element, מ M of מוֹ MO stands for 'massive'. It is akin to the English existence marker "am", and is the root of אֵם, 'mother'; עַם, 'nation'; עִם, 'with; מים, 'water'; and מוּם, 'fault, defect'. Also עמם, 'dim, clumsy, vague', as in Ezekiel 28:3
הִנֵּה חָכָם אַתָּה מִדָּנִיֵּאל כָּל סָתוּם לֹא עֲמָמוּךָ
NIV: Are you wiser than Daniel? Is no secret hidden from you?
Notice also the ם M in סָתוּם SATUM, 'sealed, thick, ambiguous'.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
kwrandolph
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Re: The word מו

Post by kwrandolph »

Kenneth Greifer wrote:I see the word מו listed in my dictionary as something like "like". Does this word exist?

It says it is a variant of במו.
No, this “word” does not exist. Not as a word. It’s a suffix that can be attached to nouns as well as to the prefixes ב, כ and ל. It can be stacked with other suffixes, e.g. כמוכם in Job 12:3.

From what I see, its purpose appears to be one of emphasis, namely to emphasize the word to which it’s appended. So Job 12:3 reads “Even I have a heart even as you all do…” The second “even” emphasizing “you all”.

Does anyone have a better understanding of this suffix?

My 2¢.

Karl W. Randolph.
Kenneth Greifer
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Re: The word מו

Post by Kenneth Greifer »

Karl,

I have seen מו used as a suffix and I have seen it used as part of a prefix like in כמו, but I have never seen it used as a prefix by itself. I thought my dictionary meant it was a prefix that was used by itself sometimes.
Kenneth Greifer
Isaac Fried
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Re: The word מו

Post by Isaac Fried »

כָמוֹנִי = כ-מוֹ-אני See Judges 9:48
כָּמוֹךָ = כ-מוֹ-אכה where אכה is an alternative of אתה See Gen. 41:18
כָמֹהוּ = כ-מוֹ-הוּא See Ex. 9:18
כְּמוֹכֶם = כ-מוֹ-אכֶם where אכֶם is an alternative of אתֶם See Job 12:3
כְמוֹהֶם = כ-מוֹ-הם See Judges 8:18

Isaac Fried, Boston University
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