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Root כ־נ־ס: entering & gathering

Roots Atlas 21 · שֹׁרֶשׁ כ נ ס · the entering / gathering root
כ נ ס
k · n · s
everything to do with going in and bringing together
12 words · 1 root · 3 verb-voices

One movement underlies this big family: coming inside, gathering in. When one person enters, it is כְּנִיסָה; when many are gathered into one place, it is a כֶּנֶס, a congress, and the assembly of the whole nation is the כְּנֶסֶת. Push the root into the causative and "bring in" becomes הַכְנָסָה, what you bring into your pocket: income. Even the trousers (מִכְנָסַיִם) are the garment you step into. From a doorway to a parliament to your salary, the thread is the same inward gathering. Every word here is verified against pealim, niqqud included.

The verb across the binyanim (voices)

The same root runs through the verb system. Each binyan is a voice: it bends the one idea into active, passive, causative or reciprocal. Tap to hear.

Nif'al
לְהִכָּנֵסlehikanes
passive / middle, it happens to the subject
to enter, to go in
Pi'el
לְכַנֵּסlechanes
intensive / specialized active
to assemble, to convene (people)
Hif'il
לְהַכְנִיסlehakhnis
causative, make someone do it
to bring in, to insert, to admit

This root has no everyday pa'al: plain "to enter" is the nif'al לְהִכָּנֵס, where the actor goes in. The pi'el לְכַנֵּס gathers others together, and the causative hif'il לְהַכְנִיס puts something inside. Notice how the three live voices map onto the family: one enters (nif'al), one assembles (pi'el), one brings in (hif'il).

Words born from the root

Same root letters, different noun moulds (mishkalim). The mould tells you the function: who does it, the act of doing it, or the thing produced.

① The entering: going in

כְּנִיסָה
knisa
entrance, entry, entering
קְטִילָה
הִכָּנְסוּת
hikansut
entering, the act of going in
הִקָּטְלוּת

② The gathering: bringing many together

כֶּנֶס
kenes
conference, congress, assembly
קֶטֶל
כִּנּוּס
kinus
convention, gathering; the assembling
קִיטּוּל
כְּנֶסֶת
knesset
assembly; the Knesset (Israel's parliament)
כְּנֵסִיָּה
knesiya
church; (obsolete) assembly
הִתְכַּנְּסוּת
hitkansut
assembling, gathering; convergence
הִתְקַטְּלוּת

③ The bringing-in: the causative results

הַכְנָסָה
hakhnasa
income, revenue; insertion, bringing in
הַקְטָלָה
מִכְנָסַיִם
mikhnasayim
trousers, pants
מִקְטָל

Decode it yourself

Strip the prefixes, suffixes and vowels. Three consonants remain, and the meaning lives there.