Pashta
/ˈpɑːʃtə/noun
A Hebrew cantillation mark used in the reading and musical chanting of the Hebrew Bible.
Did you know?Pashta belongs to the system of te'amim, signs that historically guided not only biblical melody but also phrasing and interpretation during public recitation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*paš(a)ṭ-
“To spread out, extend, or loosen; the reconstructed root underlying later Semitic forms.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
פשט (pašaṭ)
“To spread out, strip off, or extend, depending on context.”
Rabbinic Hebrew and Aramaic
Hebrew/Aramaic
פשטא (pashta)
“An extended or spread-out form; the name of a biblical cantillation sign.”
Medieval Jewish scholarship
Hebrew
פַּשְׁטָא
“A te'am mark used in the traditional chanting and grammatical parsing of biblical Hebrew.”
19th–20th Century
English
pashta
“An English transliteration used by scholars for the Hebrew cantillation mark.”
Modern English
English
Pashta
“A technical term in Biblical Hebrew grammar, Masoretic studies, and Jewish liturgical music.”
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