how to say “to devour” in Hebrew
לִטְרוֹף
In Biblical times, Hebrew speakers used the active-simple verb לִטְרוֹף – to devour – in its literal sense.
– to devour – in its literal sense.But since wild animals are not as common in our neighborhoods today, Modern-Hebrew speakers typically use לטרוף in reference to eating something with extraordinary vigor.
For example:
אֲנִי מַכִּיר אֹתוֹ – הוּא יִטְרוֹף אֶת הַלְּבִיבוֹת מִיָּד כְּשֶׁהוּא יַגִּיעַ הַבַּיְתָה.
I know him – he’ll devour the latkes as soon as he gets home.
The root ט.ר.פ (t.r.p) means devour, but it also carries the meaning of confusion and mixing things up, so that to shuffle the cards is לטרוף אֶת הַקְּלָפִים .
.חֲנֻכָּה שָׂמֵחַ!
Happy Hanukkah!
