# \*ḥly: 'ornament, jewellery; to adorn'

> Proto-Semitic *ḥly, 'ornament, jewellery; to adorn': reflexes in 2 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 | \*ḥly |
| Meaning | 'ornament, jewellery; to adorn' |
| Basis | project |

## Reflexes

| Language | Form | Sources | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hebrew | ḥălî, pl. ḥălāʾîm (Pr 25:12; Song 7:2); ḥelyâ (Hos 2:15) (HALOT 318) | HALOT 318 | gloss withheld |
| Arabic | ḥaly 'an ornament of a woman, of moulded metal or of stones'; ḥilyat 'ornament, ornaments'; ḥalaytu l-marʾata 'I gave the woman ornaments'; ḥallā 'he decked (the woman) with ornaments' (Lane 634–635) | Lane 634–635 |  |

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

## Notes

HALOT 317 sets the Hebrew nouns under II ḥlh with Arabic ḥalā 'to adorn', and HALOT 318 sets ḥelyâ beside Arabic ḥilyat and Middle Hebrew ḥālyâ 'link (of a chain)'. LGz. 312 cites Barth's comparison of Arabic ḥalā (ḥly) 'adorn' and Hebrew ḥălāʾîm 'ornaments' with Geez laḥaya 'be beautiful' by metathesis. Lane 634 keeps ḥly 'ornament' apart from ḥlw 'to be sweet' (K0727). Not 2066 \*ḥly 'to be sick'.

## 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/3734_ornament_jewellery_to_adorn/
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.