In the terminology used to discuss the grammar of the Semitic languages and some other Afro-Asiatic languages, a triliteral (Arabic: جذر ثلاثي, ǧaḏr ṯalāṯī) is a root containing a sequence of three consonants (so also known as a triconsonantal root). The Semitic languages are a Language family whose living representatives are spoken by more than 467 million people across much of the Middle East, The Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a Language family with about 375 languages ( SIL estimate and more than 300 million speakers spread throughout North Africa Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The majority of consonantal roots in these languages are generally triliterals (but some may be quadriliterals). In the terminology used to discuss the grammar of the Semitic languages, a quadriliteral is a consonantal root containing a sequence of four consonants (instead of three 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, generally following specific patterns.

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	fa‘ala فَعَلَ (Stem I)	3rd. K-T-B is a Triconsonantal root of a number of Arabic words typically those having to do with writing Hebrew Grammar is partly analytical, expressing such forms as dative, ablative, and accusative using Prepositional Arabic is a Semitic language See Arabic language for more information on the language in general masc. sing perfect	katabh כתב	kataba كتب	"he wrote"
			1st. plur. perfect	katabhnu כתבנו	katabnā 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	kātib كاتب	"writer"
Š verb stem	Hiph‘il	af‘ala أَفْعَلَ (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	istaf‘ala أسْتَفْعَلَ (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:		maf‘al مَفْعَل	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 [v] (IPA). The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA is a system of phonetic notation based on the Latin alphabet, devised by the International Phonetic 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 (Hebrew בנין, plural בינינים 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. The Arabic terms, called وزن wazn, (plural أوزان, ’awzān) for the pattern and جذر ǧaḏr (plural جذور, ǧuḏūr) for the root have not gained the same currency as the Hebrew equivalents, and Western grammarians continue to use "stem"/"form"/"pattern" for the former and "root" for the latter (though "form" and "pattern" are literal translations of wazn, and "root" is a literal translation of ǧaḏr).

See also

• Nonconcatenative morphology
• Transfix
• Arabic grammar
  • Broken plural
• Apophony vs. transfixation (root-and-pattern)
• Proto-Indo-European root

External links

• Project Root List

Nonconcatenative morphology is a form of word-formation in which the root is modified in a way other than by stringing Morphemes together In linguistic morphology, a transfix is a discontinuous Affix, which occurs at more than one position in a word Arabic is a Semitic language See Arabic language for more information on the language in general In Linguistics, broken plurals are a grammatical phenomenon typical in many Semitic languages of the Middle East and Ethiopia in which a singular The roots of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language (PIE are basic Morphemes carrying a Lexical meaning

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