Word of the day: עימות - debate

Several new words for those who are following the US presidential race:

עִמּוּת ~ עימות imut means "a debate"; a less common synonym is מַעֲמָת ma'amat. These words are related to the verb לְעַמֵּת le'amet "to confront" (someone with something, or one person with another):

This verb can also be used in the sense "to contrast, to compare":

The generic word for "to debate, to argue" is לְהִתְוַכֵּחַ ~ להתווכח lehitvakeach, and the corresponding noun is וִכּוּחַ ~ ויכוח vikuach "argument". The difference between ויכוח and עימות is that עימות is a pre-arranged argument – when someone עימת the participants against each other – as it is supposed in the presidential race.

Finally, an example sentence from the news:

• לְהַצְלִיחַ lehatzliach (לעשות משהו) means "to succeed" (in doing something).
• לְהַגְחִיךְ lehagchich means "to ridicule, to make fun of someone, make a laughing stock of someone" (from the word לְגַחֵךְ legachech "to snicker, to giggle")
• מַהֲלָךְ mahalach (from לָלֶכֶת lalechet) means "process, course" (among other meanings). Accordingly, בְּמַהֲלַךְ means "during, over the course of".

So, the whole sentence can be translated as "Clinton managed last night to ridicule Trump several times during the course of the TV debate between them."

If you have any questions or corrections, or want to propose topics to write about further, don't hesitate to comment. Have a nice day, and subscribe to our Facebook page to stay up to date!