# \*ḥwy: 'to bow down, prostrate oneself; to draw oneself together, coil'

> Proto-Semitic *ḥwy, 'to bow down, prostrate oneself; to draw oneself together, coil': reflexes in 3 language(s).

A page of the Linear A Lexicon's research wiki, in [Wiki](<https://linear-a.ai/wiki/index.md>) › [Kaphtor Semitic Roots](<https://linear-a.ai/wiki/semitic-roots/index.md>) › [ḥ](<https://linear-a.ai/wiki/semitic-roots/het/index.md>). Updated 2026-10-28.

## Root

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Reconstruction | \*ḥwy |
| Meaning | 'to bow down, prostrate oneself; to draw oneself together, coil' |
| Basis | project |

## Reflexes

| Language | Form | Sources | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hebrew | hištaḥăwâ (eštaf.) (before a person; in worship) (HALOT 295) | HALOT 295 | gloss withheld |
| Ugaritic | Št tštḥwy, yštḥwy (DULAT 375–376) | DULAT 375–376 | gloss withheld |
| Arabic | ḥawwā 'to draw together, contract' (aḥawwī nafsī 'I draw myself together'); taḥawwā 'it gathered itself together and coiled itself' (Lane 678–679) | Lane 678–679 |  |

A form keeps its source's gloss only when the source is public domain or openly licensed.

## Notes

DULAT 375 sets Hebrew hištaḥăwâ 'to bow down' and Arabic ḥawwā, taḥawwā 'to contract, to coil oneself' (AEL 678 f.) beside the Ugaritic. HALOT 295 takes hištaḥăwâ as the Št of ḥwy, the only Hebrew verb with that stem, with Ugaritic tštḥwy and Arabic ḥwy V 'to curl up', against the traditional hitpalel of šḥh. Arabic ḥawā 'to gather' and ḥiwāʾ 'circle of tents' are 3623, and ḥawiyyat 'a coiled intestine' (Lane 679) is 181. Not K0511 \*sVgVd- 'prostrate'.

## Linked from

- [ḥ](<https://linear-a.ai/wiki/semitic-roots/het/index.md>)

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Page: https://linear-a.ai/wiki/semitic-roots/het/3733_to_bow_down_prostrate_oneself_to_draw_oneself_to/
Licence: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Cite as: di Mino, Tom. 2026. Linear A Lexicon. Plasma AI. https://linear-a.ai/. Data: kaphtor, commit add28e94.