how to say “delay” in Hebrew
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Suppose you’ve boarded a Tel-Aviv-bound bus in Jerusalem for a 12:30 lunch meeting nearby Rabin Square. You didn’t know about work being done on the highway, which lengthens your trip by half an hour. You finally arrive at the Tel Aviv cafe, ten minutes late, saying to the person with whom you are to meet, forgive me, I was delayed.
Here’s how to say it in Hebrew: סְלִיחָה, הִתְעַכַּבְתִּי (seh-lee-KHAH, heet-ah-KAHV-tee). לְהִתְעַכֵּב (leh-heet-ah-KEV) is a reflexive-intensive התפעל verb.
Now suppose you’re in line for the security check at the airport, and an airport official pulls you aside for a screening. In this case, you’d say to your friends at the gate, עִכְּבוּ אוֹתִי בַּתּוֹר (ee-keh-VOO oh-TEE bah-TOHR) – they held me back in the line. This would be an active-intensive פיעל (pee-EL) usage of the root.
Likewise, you might say עֻכַּבְתִּי בַּתּוֹר (oo-KAHV-tee bah-TOHR) – I was held back at the line or I was delayed at the line. In this case you’d use the passive-intensive עוכבתי and not the reflexive התעכבתי, since there was a specific human cause of your delay – namely, the person conducting the security screening.
The noun form, a delay, is an עִכּוּב (ee-KOOV).
The root, ע.כ.ב (a.k.b), means delay or impediment in Modern Hebrew.
Whoever shows me the etymological origin of the root gets a virtual high five. My guess is that the root is borrowed from Arabic.
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