The Database of Semantic Shifts in the languages of the world

Comment
Cf. also Arabic ʔamr- 'order; affair; thing' (BK I 54) (the original meaning of the root ʔmr is 'to speak', cp. its cognate in Ancient Hebrew ʔmr (qal) 'to say' (HALOT 66).

ACCEPTED Realization 1
type		Polysemy
language		Ancient Hebrew
lexeme		dābār
meaning 1	word	dābār ṭōb ‘a good word’ (Ps 45:2)
direction	—
meaning 2	matter; thing, something	dəbar ham-malkā ‘the queen's deed’ (Est 1:17)
reference
comment		(HALOT 211).

ACCEPTED Realization 2
type		Polysemy
language		Geez
lexeme		nagar
meaning 1	speech, talk, word, language	ʔi-tāwṣəʔ nagara za-samāʕka (Sirach 19:10): ‘do not let go out the word that you have heard’
direction	—
meaning 2	thing, affair, matter	ba- ʔənta nagara ṭāʕot ʔəʔezzəzakəmu ‘concerning the matter of the idol I order you’; laʔəmma gabarka lita zanta nagara ʔərəʕ(ʕ)i kāʕba ʔabāgəʕika wa-ʔaʕaḳḳəb 'if you do this thing to me, I will again tend your sheep and watch them' (Gen. 30:31)
reference
comment		(LGz. 392; LLA 690-691). The primary meaning is А, cf. Nagara 'to speak'.

ACCEPTED Realization 3
type		Polysemy
language		Oromo
lexeme		dubbii
meaning 1	speech	Ulfaatton durateessicci dubbii dubbatan heessatti akka akeekkaccisanitti 'as the honorable chairman painted out in the speech he pronounced...'
direction	—
meaning 2	affair; thing	Asirratti dubbii tokko hubaccuu nu barbaaccisa 'here it is necessary to pay attention to one matter'
reference
comment		(Gragg 1982:110).