[Avodah] bli neder

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Jun 09, 2025 at 12:38:28PM +0300, Simon Montagu via Avodah wrote:
> Why do you think sherut is feminine? The tav is a root letter, not a
> suffix.

You remind me of the word "tallis", which is indeed feminine. Not because
of the "-is" suffix, but because it is clothing.

Aside from Ashkenazi acharonim who thought in Yiddish, the word in Chazal,
Rishonim, etc... is either "tallisos" or "talliyos". Why the open
question? Because the word is Greek, "stollus". The yud-sav suffix isn't
the Hebrew feminine one. If we act like it is anyway, the word would be
"talliyos", otherwise, "tallisos".

Similarly, "Sheirut" is indeed a feminine noun, even though the vav-tav
is not related to that fact. Probably because service is a "receive
and further develop" type thing. (Blame either the biology of reproduction
or historical gender roles. Just please don't blame me.)

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 "I hear, then I forget; I see, then I remember;
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   I do, then I understand." - Confucius
Author: Widen Your Tent      "Hearing doesn't compare to seeing." - Mechilta
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF    "We will do and we will listen." - Israelites