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Root ס־כ־ם: summing & agreeing

Roots Atlas 181 · שֹׁרֶשׁ ס כ ם · the summing root
ס כ ם
s · kh · m
everything to do with totals and agreement
8 words · 1 root · 3 verb-voices

Three consonants run one idea in two directions: bringing things to a total. Add up numbers and you reach a sum; add up a discussion and you reach a summary; bring two minds to the same total and you reach agreement. The same root that closes an arithmetic line closes a negotiation. 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.

Pa'al
לִסְכֹּםliskom
simple active, the plain action
to sum up, to complete (rare)
Pi'el
לְסַכֵּםlesakem
intensive / specialized active
to summarize, to conclude
Hif'il
לְהַסְכִּיםlehaskim
causative, make someone do it
to agree, to consent

Watch the split: the everyday verb for summarizing is the pi'el, while agreeing rides the hif'il ("to bring oneself to the same total"). The pa'al survives mostly in formal or literary use. The passives nif'al, pu'al, huf'al and the reflexive hitpa'el are not lexicalized here.

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 act: summing & summarizing

סִכּוּם
sikum
summary, conclusion
קִטּוּל
הַסְכָּמָה
haskama
consent, approval, agreement
הַקְטָלָה

② The total: the result reached

סְכוּם
skhum
sum, amount (of money, etc.)
קְטוּל

③ The agreement: minds brought together

הֶסְכֵּם
heskem
agreement, accord, pact
הֶקְטֵל
מֻסְכָּמָה
muskama
convention, consensus, accepted premise
מֻקְטָלָה

Decode it yourself

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