יִמְעָ֑ט

𐤉𐤌𐤏𐤈

yimeat

will-dwindle

a primitive root; properly, to pare off, i.e. lessen; intransitively, to be (or causatively, to make) small or few (or figuratively, ineffective); suffer to decrease, diminish, (be, [idiom] borrow a, give, make) few (in number, -ness), gather least (little), be (seem) little, ([idiom] give the) less, be minished, bring to nothing.

H4591

Proverbs 13:11 · Word #3

Lexicon H4591

Lemmaמָעַט
Lemma (Paleo)𐤌𐤏𐤈
Transliterationmâʻaṭ
Strong'sH4591
In-contextwill-dwindle

Morphology HVqi3ms All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state
Binyan q — Qal — Simple active
Conjugation i — Imperfect — Incomplete or ongoing action
Person 3 — 3rd person — Third person ("he/she/they")
Gender m — Masculine — Masculine
Number s — Singular — Singular

SIBI-P1 H4591-04

he becomes small

Rootמעט (m-ʿ-ṭ)
Core Meaningssmallness, fewness, diminution, reduction, insignificance
Semantic Rangeto become small, to diminish, to lessen, to decrease in number or importance, to be few, to be insignificant, to reduce (in causative stems)
Conceptual Significanceמעט often highlights human limitation, numerical smallness, or reduced strength in contrast to divine abundance and power. It can underscore themes of humility, dependence, and the reversal of apparent strength, where what is small or few stands in tension with YHWH’s sustaining provision.
Morphological NotesQal imperfect (yiqtol) 3rd masculine singular; one occurrence reflects jussive nuance (shortened form), which may carry a modal sense such as "let him become small." The verb is intransitive here, describing the subject’s state of diminution.
Rendering RationaleThe root מעט conveys the idea of becoming small, few, or diminished. In the Qal imperfect 3rd masculine singular (including jussive nuance), the verb describes a singular masculine subject who is in the process of diminishing or becoming small; thus "he becomes small" preserves both the core sense of reduction and the grammatical form.

AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)

Words from Root מעט (smallness, fewness, diminution, reduction, insignificance)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H4592-01 bimeat with a smallness of
H4592-02 hameat Is it the small thing?
H4592-03 khimeat as a small-amount of
H4592-04 kimeat as a small-amount
H4592-05 limeat to a small-amount
H4592-06 meat a smallness of
H4592-07 meatim small-numbered ones
H4591-01 tameit you will cause to become few
H4591-02 vehamameit and the one causing-to-be-few
H4592-08 velameat and to the small-portion
H4592-09 vimeat by a small-amount
H4591-03 yameit he causes to become small
H4591-05 yimeatu they will become few

Word Usage (22 occurrences of H4591)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Exodus 12:4 יִמְעַ֣ט yimeat is too small
Exodus 16:17 וְ/הַ/מַּמְעִֽיט vehamameit and the one gathering little
Exodus 16:18 וְ/הַ/מַּמְעִ֖יט vehamameit and the one gathering little
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