how to say “column” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/עמודה-#.m4a” /]עַמּוּד, טוּר, עַמּוּדָה

Before it was lines on a piece of paper (or in a spreadsheet), a column was that which supports a surface raised above the ground. Such a column (or pole, for that matter) is called עמוד[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/עמודה-#.m4a” /] in Hebrew.

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/עמודה-#.m4a” /]העמוד הזה מפוסל בצורה אומנותית.

This column is sculpted in an artistic manner.

Now, there’s column in the building-support sense, but also column that stands in contrast with a row on a table (think tic-tac-toe). That kind of column is called טור[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/עמודה-#.m4a” /] – which also refers to a newspaper column.

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/עמודה-#.m4a” /]יש לה טור שבועי בעיתון
“ישראל היום”.

She has a weekly column in the newspaper Israel Today.

Now, טור refers to a column on a spreadsheet, but there’s another, more commonly-used word for that: עמודה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/עמודה-#.m4a” /], which was invented in modern times based on עמוד.

For example:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/עמודה-#.m4a” /]אפשר להדביק את הטקסט בעמודה הבאה.

We can paste the text in the next column.

Why not just use עמוד for a digital column? Because עמוד already means page in addition to column – the word was already taken.