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# Hamsa

🏷 Semitic hidden ruler pun · symbol — by Gerry · Jul 2020 · 473 words

The hamsa is a symbol of a hand, often with an eye on its palm and two thumbs. The name comes from Semitic ḥmš / ḵms for “five”, and seems to be a pun with מסוה mswh for “cover” & “veil”, and with המצא h-mṣˀ for “make found”, “make happen”, “invent”. The spook meaning may be “shielding” from “being found”.

The hamsa is a decorative & protective amulet in the shape of a hand, sold as folksy superstition. It’s officially from Hebrew ḥmš / Arabic ḵms for “five”. That’s harmless though, so there must be some hidden spook puns.

- Since the amulet is supposed to “shield” from evil, the best pun is with מסוה mswh for “cover” & “veil”. You can H-prefix it to המסוה h-mswh for “the veil”. (It could also mean “veiling oneself”, but it’s not attested as a verb.)
- A secondary pun may be with המצא h-mṣˀ, which is the Hiphi‘el causative for “make found”, “make happen”, which also means “to invent”.
- Together the 2 puns may mean for spooks to “veil” themselves from being “found”, and to “invent” a cover story to “camouflage” themselves.
- The hamsa sometimes has an eye in the middle. This may be a complementing “veil” pun, of נצר nṣr for “guard” with נאזר n-ˀzr, the Niph‘al reflexive form for “veiling oneself” (think “Nazir”).
- The hamsa also sometimes has 2 thumbs. That may be a complementing pun of אגודל שני ˀgwdl šny for “second thumb” with גדל שני gdl šny for “disguised majesty” (thumb & majesty from “great”, for 2nd see number-2).
- Te Hamsa is supposed to shield from the “evil eye”. But the evil eye itself is a spook pun, homonymous to things like “nullified appearance” & “visible evidence”.

(As an aside, the grammar form h-mṣˀ, which means “make happen”, may also be the origin of the handslap called “give five” to celebrate that you accomplished something, i.e. you made it happen. “High five” & “thumbs up” may be similar Semitic puns.)

#### Hebrew m-swh = veil, cover, conceal, camouflage

מסוה mswh : cover, veil, mask — Hebrew (Klein)

מסוה mswh : cover, sheath — Hebrew (Jastrow)

מסוה mswh : masked; camouflaged — Hebrew (Klein)

#### Hebrew h-mṣˀ = make found, make happen, invention, contrive

המציא hmṣyˀ : caused to find; caused to come upon; caused to meet, delivered up; supplied with, furnished; invented — Hebrew (Klein)

אמצאה ˀmṣˀh : invention — Hebrew (Klein)

המצאה hmṣˀh : bringing into existence; invention; device, contrivance; supplying — Hebrew (Klein)

המצא hmṣˀ : feign — Hebrew (Waldstein)

המציא hmṣyˀ : to invent (something); to come up with (something) — Hebrew (Wikt)

#### Hebrew gdl = thumb, great finger, great, rich, majesty

גודל gwdl : thumb, great toe — Hebrew (Jastrow)

אגודל ˀgwdl : thumb; Perhaps derived from גדל ᴵ and lit. meaning ‘the large finger’. — Hebrew (Klein)

גדל gdl : to be great; grew up; became great; became rich; magnified; enlarged — Hebrew (Klein)

גדל gdl : greatness, magnitude; majesty, magnificence — Hebrew (Klein)

🏷 Semitic hidden ruler pun · symbol