מ־ז־ל
m-z-l “constellation, star of fate”
Hebrew mazzālôṯ, the constellations of 2 Kings 23:5, probably from Babylonian astronomy (Akkadian manzaltu 'station'), became rabbinic mazzāl, 'the star that rules your fate', and so 'luck'. Yiddish gave mazl tov, Dutch mazzel, and with Germanic shlim 'bad' shlimazl, which German turned into Schlamassel.
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Today2 of 4 words have reached English
23 hops. The slider moves through them evenly, so busy centuries get room.
Words from this root 4
Relatives outside the atlas
| Biblical Hebrew | מַזָּלוֹת | mazzālôṯ | “constellations” |
| Modern Hebrew | מַזָּל | mazal | “luck; sign of the zodiac” |
| Jewish Babylonian Aramaic | מַזָּלָא | mazzālāʾ | “star of fate” |
| Akkadian | manzaltu | manzaltu | “station, position (of a star): the probable source” |
| Yiddish | מזל־טובֿ | mazl-tov | “congratulations” |