ש־מ־עس م ع

š-m-ʿ “to hear”

Proto-Semitic *šamaʿ- 'hear' gave the Shema prayer, Šimʿôn 'hearing' (Simon, and through Simon Magus simony), and šəmûʿāh 'report, rumour', whose plural became Yiddish shmues 'a chat', hence schmooze, and probably German Schmu. Samuel and shamus look similar but are not from this root.

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Today3 of 4 words have reached English

45 hops. The slider moves through them evenly, so busy centuries get room.

Words from this root 4

schmoozeProto-Semitic → Biblical Hebrew → Mishnaic Hebrew → Yiddish → American English
SchmuBiblical Hebrew → Yiddish → German
SimonBiblical Hebrew → Koine Greek → Late Latin → Old French → Middle English → English
simonyBiblical Hebrew → Koine Greek → Medieval Latin → Old French → Middle English → English

Relatives outside the atlas

Biblical Hebrew	שְׁמַע	šəmaʿ	“'Hear!', the Shema”
Biblical Hebrew	שָׁמַע	šāmaʿ	“to hear, obey”
Biblical Hebrew	יִשְׁמָעֵאל	Yišmāʿēʾl	“Ishmael, 'God hears'”
Arabic	سَمِعَ	samiʿa	“to hear”
Arabic	سَمَاع	samāʿ	“listening; Sufi music”
Arabic	إِسْمَاعِيل	ʾIsmāʿīl	“Ishmael”