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I've been studying Hebrew for about a whole month now. I've discovered that the word "widget" in English, while translating to "widget" in most other languages, translates to "יישומון" in Hebrew. I know enough Hebrew to know that "יישומון" does not transliterate to "widget", because I see a shin, a mem, and a nun in there.

I think direct transliteration of the English word for science and engineering terms is standard for non-English languages. I'd like to know why Hebrew does this word differently. Can anyone explain whether "יישומון" is related to other Hebrew words? Furthermore, does anyone know how Hebrew ended up with a different word for "widget" than most other languages on the planet?

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I think this should be asked here. area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/36772/hebrew-language-usage – yehuda Oct 20 '12 at 22:23
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Welcome to Mi Yodeya! I'm closing this as off topic as it doesn't relate to Judaism per the scope defined in our faq. You might be interested to know that the Hebrew root ישמ means to apply/application. That could be the answer to your first question. Your second question might be better suited for Linguistics. – Double AA♦ Oct 21 '12 at 0:08
@yehuda Note that what you linked to is not a Q&A site, but a proposal to create a Q&A site. Questions posted there will not be answered, but will only help illustrate the need for such a site. – Isaac Moses Oct 21 '12 at 3:27
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@IsaacMoses thanks, didnt know that! – yehuda Oct 21 '12 at 12:14
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The site @yehuda linked to is only a proposed site, but I posted my question there and still got a response anyway. If anyone comes across this and is interested, here's the link: area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/36772/hebrew-language-usage/…. Thanks for your help everyone. – Daniel.J.Shapiro Oct 21 '12 at 14:02

closed as off topic by Double AA♦ Oct 21 '12 at 0:06

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