In Hebrew: 'Environment'

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May 6, 2013, 11 AM ET

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סְבִיבָה

With summer coming in the northern hemisphere and air-conditioning (entry on that tomorrow) set to full blast in Israeli homes and vehicles, this week's a good time to introduce some Hebrew terms about climate and environment.

The Hebrew word for environment is סְבִיבָה. It's a verbal noun of the root ס.ו.ב (s.w.b) meaning going around - the same root as that of the word for dreidel - סְבִיבוֹן.

Some usages of סביבה:

הַמִּשְׂרָד לַהֲגָנַת הַסְּבִיבָה Ministry for Environmental Protection (literally, for the protection of the environment)

צָרִיךְ לִדְאוֹג לַסְּבִיבָה הַיּוֹם לְעַמַן הַדּוֹר שֶׁל מָחָר. We must take care of the environment today for the sake of tomorrow's generation.

סְבִיבָה מִשְׂרָדִית נְעִימָה מְאַפְשֶׁרֶת עֲבוֹדָה פּוֹרָה. A pleasant office environment enables productive work.

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