Mikhail Poda

The Letter פ and Verbs of Splitting, Spreading, and Separating

A curious pattern in Hebrew is the appearance of the letter פ (Pe) as the first root letter in many verbs that belong to the semantic field of breaking, separating, or spreading into multiple parts.

• Even when פ is not the first root letter, but appears second, it follows one of the so-called “special” letters נ (Nun) or שׁ (Shin)
• More then the half of these roots contain also ר (Resh) as its second or third consonant.
• The only exception to this rule is the root ח־ל־ק – to share, divide.
• Many English words in this same semantic field also form a recognizable pattern, typically starting with s and containing both p and r.
• This semantic field is closely related to a semantic fild with the meaning to open which also starts with פ (Pe).

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Break

Hebrew	Meaning	Root	Related
לְהַפִּיל	to drop; to overthrow; to abort	נ־פ־ל	נְפִילָה – fall, downfall הַפָּלָה – abortion מַפָּל – waterfall
לְנַפֵּץ	to smash, shatter	נ־פ־ץ	נָפִיץ – explosive נַפָּץ – detonator
לְפוֹצֵץ	to blow up, detonate	פ־צ־ץ	פִּיצוּץ – explosion פְּצָצָה – bomb
לְהִתְפּוֹרֵר	to fall apart, disintegrate	פ־ר־ר	הִתְפּוֹרְרוּת – disintegration
לִשְׁבּוֹר	to break (note: בּ sounds like פ)	שׁ־ב־ר	שַׁבְרִיר – splinter, fragment

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Separate

Hebrew	Meaning	Root	Related
		פ־ל־ח	פֶּלַח – market share; fruit slice
לִפְרוֹס	to slice; spread out; deploy	¹פ־ר־ס	פְּרוּסָה – slice, piece פְּרִיסָה– layout; deployment
לְהִתְפַּלֵּג	to split into factions	פ־ל־ג	פֶּלֶג – faction מִפְלָגָה – political party הִתְפַּלְּגוּת – statistical distrubution
לְפַצֵּל	to split up, divide	פ־צ־ל	פִּיצּוּל – fragmentation
לְהִיפָּרֵד	to separate	פ־ר־ד	הַפְרָדָה – separation. segregation נִפְרָד – separate, individual (adj.)
לִפְרוֹט	to break (money into small parts)	¹פ־ר־ט	פְּרָטִי – private, personal מְפוֹרָט – detailes, specific
לִפְרוֹם	to unknit, unravel	פ־ר־ם
לְפָרֵק	to dismantle, disassemble	¹פ־ר־ק	פֶּרֶק – chapter פֵּירוּק – deconstruction, disassembly
לִפְרוֹק	to unpack, unload	²פ־ר־ק	פְּרִיקָה– discharge, unloading

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Spread

Hebrew	Meaning	Root	Related
לְהָפִיץ	to distribute, spread	פ־ו־ץ	נָפוֹץ – widespread, common הֲפָצָה – distribution, dissemination, spreading
לְפַזֵּר	to scatter, disperse	פ־ז־ר
לְהַפְגִּיז	to bombard	פ־ג־ז	פָּגָז – artilery shell
לִפְרוֹס	to slice; spread out; deploy	²פ־ר־ס	פְּרוּסָה – slice, piece פְּרִיסָה– layout; deployment מִפְרָשׂ – sail
לְהִתְפַּשֵּׁט	to undress; spread (reflexive)	פ־שׁ־ט	מוּפְשָׁט – abstract פָּשׁוּט – simple

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Emit

Hebrew	Meaning	Root	Related
לְהַנְפִּיק	to issue (coint, stock)	נ־פ־ק
לִפְלוֹט	to emit, output; print	פ־ל־ט	פָּלִיט – refugee פְּלִיטוֹת – emissions (industrial)
לְהִתְפּוֹגֵג	to dissipate, fade away	פ־ג־ג	תְּפוּגָה – expiration
לְפַרְסֵם	to publish	פ־ר־ס־ם	מְפוּרְסָם – famous פִּירְסוֹמֶת – advertisement פִּרְסוּם – advertising, publication, publicity
לִפְרוֹס	to slice; spread out; deploy	³פ־ר־ס	פְּרוּסָה – slice, piece פְּרִיסָה– layout; deployment
לִשְׁפּוֹךְ	to pour; spill	שׁ־פ־ך	שְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים – bloodshed
לִפְעוֹם	to beat, pulse	פ־ע־ם	פְּעִימָה – beat, pulse, heartbeat פַּעַם– time (occasion); once

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Solve

Hebrew	Meaning	Root	Related
לְפַעְנֵחַ	to decipher, figure out, solve	פ־ע־נ־ח	פִּעַנוּחַ – decoding
לְפַצֵּחַ	to solve (puzzle), crack (password), break (algoritm)	פ־צ־ח	מַפְצֵחַ – nutcracker פִּיצּוּחַ – cracking (nuts), solving (puzzle)
לִפְתּוֹר	to solve	פ־ת־ר	פִּתְרוֹן – solution

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Nature

Hebrew	Meaning	Root	Related
לְהַפְרוֹת	to fertilize	פ־ר־ה	פְּרִי – fruit פּוֹרֶה – productuve, fertile פִּרְיוֹן – productivity, fertility
לִפְרוֹחַ	to bloom; hover	פ־ר־ח	פֶּרַח – flower אֶפְרוֹחַ – young chicken

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Explain

Hebrew	Meaning	Root	Related
לְפָרֵט	to detail, elaborate, specify	²פ־ר־ט	פְּרִיט – item, object פְּרָט – detail; individual פֵּירוּט – breakdown, detail list
לְפָרַשׁ	to interpret, explain	פ־ר־שׁ	פַּרְשָׁן – commentator, expert מְפוֹרָשׁ – explicit

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Remove

Hebrew	Meaning	Root	Related
לְפַטֵּר	to fire, dismiss	פ־ט־ר	הִתְפַּטְּרוּת – resignation פִּיטּוּרִים – layoff פְּטוֹר – exemption, waiver
לְהִיפָּטֵר	to get rid of; to pass away	פ־ט־ר	נִפְטָר – deceased
לְפַנּוֹת	to evacuate, clear	פ־נ־ה	פִּינּוּי – evacuation, eviction
לְהַפְסִיד	to lose	פ־ס־ד	הֶפְסֵד – loss, damage
לִפְרוֹשׁ	to retire, leave, quit	פ־ר־שׁ	הֶפְרֵשׁ – numerical difference

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Social

Hebrew	Meaning	Root	Related
לְפַגֵּר	to lag behind	פ־ג־ר	מְפַגֵּר – retarded person (slang)
לְהַפְלוֹת	to discriminate	פ־ל־ה	אַפְלָיָה – discrimination
לְהַפְרִיךְ	to disprove, refute, debunk	פ־ר־ך	פָּרִיךְ – crispy, crunchy פרך – hard labour
לְהָפֵר	to break (a promise, law)	פ־ר־ר	פֵּירוּר – (bread) crumb הֲפָרָה – violation, breach (of promise, law)
לִפְסוֹל	to rule out, disqualify	פ־ס־ל	פֶּסֶל – statue
לְהִתְפַּשֵּׁר	to compromise	פ־שׁ־ר	פְּשָׁרָה – compromise פּוֹשֵׁר – lukewarm

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Invade

Hebrew	Meaning	Root	Related
לִפְלוֹשׁ	to invade, break into	פ־ל־שׁ	פְּלִישָׁה – invasion
לִפְרוֹץ	to hack; break in, breach	פ־ר־ץ	מִפְרָץ – gulf, bay פְּרִיצָה – burglary פִּרְצָה – loophole, breach פְּרוּצָה – prostitute

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Many meanings of לִפְרוֹס

1. To slice, cut into portions

   • לפרוס לחם – to slice bread
   • פרוסה – a slice

2. To spread out, unfold, extend

   • לפרוס ידיים – to spread one’s arms
   • לפרוס מצנח – to deploy/open a parachute

3. To deploy, lay out (esp. in military/technical contexts)

   • לפרוס כוחות – to deploy forces
   • לפרוס תשתית – to lay out infrastructure (like cables, network)

4. It also merged with the root פ־ר־שׂ and is used only in the word מִפְרָשׂ – sail