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Word of the day: כבאי – firefighter

27 November 2016

The Hebrew verb for a fire in general is ׁאֵש esh (feminine). A word for a bonfire or a wildfire is שְׂרֵפָה ~ שריפה srefa.

בפעם השנייה השבוע, שריפה גדולה פרצה בצד הצפוני של היישוב דולב.
Ba-pa'am ha-shniya ha-shavua, srefa gdola partza ba-tzad ha-tzfoni shel ha-yishuv dolev.
For the second time in a week, a large fire broke out on the northern side of the Dolev settlement.

This is, sadly, from the recent news, as are all of the quotes in this post.

To light up a fire or to set something on fire would be לְהַדְלִיק lehadlik or לְהַצִּית lehatzit. The corresponding action nouns – lighting, igniting – are הַדְלָקָה hadlaka are הַצָּתָה hatzata. להדליק can also be used, alongside לְהַפְעִיל lehaf'il, in the sense "to turn on" (an electrical device). הצתה can also mean "arson":

עלה החשד כי מדובר בהצתה מכוונת
Ala ha-cheshed ki medubar be-hatzatot mechuvanot.
A suspicion has arisen that these are [lit.: it is spoken about] intentional arsons.

Conversely, "to extinguish fire" is לְכַבּוֹת lechabot (and the same word is using for turning off a light or a device). The action noun for extinguishing a fire is כִּבּוּי ~ כיבוי kibuy. A firefighter, or fireman, is כַּבַּאי kabay:

מאות כבאים עדיין פועלים בשריפות בחיפה
Me'ot kaba'im adayin po'alim bi-srefot be-Cheifa.
Hundreds of firefighters are still working at the fires in Haifa.

That's all for now. Wish the best of luck to those who are now fighting the fires in Israel.

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