Triliteral
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In the terminology used to discuss the grammar of the Semitic languages, a triliteral is a root containing a sequence of three consonants (so also known as a triconsonantal root). The majority of consonantal roots in these languages are generally triliterals (but some may be quadriliterals). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the derivation of actual words by adding the vowels and non-root consonants which go with a particular morphological category around the root consonants, in an appropriate way.
For example, the following are some of the forms which can be derived from the triconsonantal root k-t-b (general overall meaning "to write") in Hebrew and Arabic:
| Semitological abbreviation | Hebrew name | Arabic name | Morphological category | Hebrew Form | Arabic form | Approximate translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G verb stem | Qal | yaf`ulu (Stem I) | 3rd. masc. sing perfect | katabh כתב | kataba كتب | "he wrote" |
| 1st. plur. perfect | katabhnu כתבנו | katabnaa كتبنا | "we wrote" | |||
| 3rd. masc. sing. imperfect | yikhtobh יכתוב | yaktubu يكتب | "he writes, will write" | |||
| 1st. plur. imperfect | nikhtobh נכתוב | naktubu نكتب | "we write, will write" | |||
| masc. sing. active participle | kotebh כותב | kaatib كاتب | "writer" | |||
| Š verb stem | Hiph`il | yuf`ilu (Stem IV) | 3rd. masc. sing perfect | hikhtibh הכתיב | 'aktaba أكتب | "he dictated" |
| 3rd. masc. sing. imperfect | yakhtibh יכתיב | yuktibu يكتب | "he dictates, will dictate" | |||
| Št(D) verb stem | Hitpa``el | yastaf`ilu (Stem X) | 3rd. masc. sing perfect | hitkattebh התכתב | istaktaba استكتب | "he corresponded" (Hebrew), "he asked (someone) to write (something), had a copy made" (Arabic) |
| 3rd. masc. sing. imperfect | yitkattebh יתכתב | yastaktibu يستكتب | (imperfect of above) | |||
| Noun with m- prefix and original short vowels: | singular | mikhtabh מכתב | maktab مكتب | "letter" (Hebrew), "office" (Arabic) | ||
- Note: The Hebrew fricatives transcribed as "kh" and "bh" above are single phonetic sounds, which can also be transcribed in a number of other ways, such as "ch" and "v" (Eastern-European influenced) or [x] and [β] (IPA). They are transcribed "kh" and "bh" on this page to retain the connection with the pure consonantal root k-t-b.
In Hebrew grammatical terminology, the word Binyan (plural Binyanim) is used to refer to a verb stem or overall verb derivation pattern, while the word Mishqal (or Mishkal) is used to refer to a noun derivation pattern, and these words have gained some use in English-language linguistic terminology.
