how to say “to file something” in Hebrew
having trouble seeing the print?
A basic Hebrew word is that for a handbag or knapsack: תִּיק (teek). Going from the concrete to the abstract, a handbag becomes a case – both a physical case and a legal case; and following that train of thought, case becomes file.
Suppose a man is collecting the paperwork for, say, a tax report. He might say, I’m putting the documents in a file. But he’s much more likely to say, I’m filing papers.
If he were speaking Hebrew, he’d say, אֲנִי מְתַיֵּק מִסְמָכִים (ah-NEE meh-tah-YEK mees-mah-KHEEM).
לְתַיֵּק (leh-tah-YEK) is the Hebrew word for to file papers.
The etymological source of these words? Ancient Greek: τηκη (teke).
Note that לתייק is not the word used for to file taxes – that’s לְדַוֵּח (leh-dah-VEH-ahkh) – literally, to report (here’s the entry on that word).
I’ve seen his amazing art at Hechal Shlomo and even acquired a piece myself.
