H3722 כָּפַר kâphar → Root

6 languages

Root of the כפר kâphar family (8 members).

To cover over, to wipe away, or to cleanse, especially in contexts related to removing impurity, guilt, or offense; by extension, to effect reconciliation or restore favorable relations, commonly through prescribed ritual actions or offerings. The primary lexical sense involves physical or metaphorical covering, leading to the concept of expiating, appeasing, or reconciling in cultic and interpersonal contexts. In priestly and legal texts, denotes removing the consequences of sin or impurity, often through ritual acts.

Etymology Root: כפר (k-p-r). The verbal root כפר conveys the basic idea of covering, concealing, or wiping away. Its earliest attested usage connects with the literal sense of smearing or coating (as with bitumen or pitch), as in coating the ark in Gen. 6:14. In ritual and legal texts, the root's semantic development leads to the figurative sense of covering or removing sin, guilt, or offense, thus signifying expiation or atonement. Derived nouns (e.g., כִּפֻּרִים 'kippurim') reflect these expanded senses.

Reflexes  · not yet grouped by proto-form

LanguageWordMeaningSegmentationRoot
Chokwe kufula to clean, to free from impurity -fula
Kikongo kúfúla to cleanse, to purify -fula
Kimbundu kufula to purify, make clean -fula
Lunda kufula to cleanse, to make clean -fula
Luvale kufula to make clean -fula
Umbundu okufula to clean, to cleanse -fula

Family members (7)

Lexemes that inherit from this canonical via the SilexRoot family or an additional inheritance edge. Tags show the cognate-propagation status.

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