Shalom (
Sephardic Hebrew/
Israeli Hebrew:
shalom;
Ashkenazi Hebrew/
Yiddish:
sholom,
sholem,
sholoim,
shulem) is a
Hebrew word meaning
peace,
harmony,
wholeness,
completeness,
prosperity,
welfare and
tranquility and can be used idiomatically to mean both
hello and
goodbye. As it does in
English, it can refer to either
peace between two entities (especially between man and God or between two countries), or to the well-being, welfare or safety of an individual or a group of individuals. Stendebach and Ringgren writes that a more thorough etymological analysis of Hebrew roots reveal that 'Lom was the basic root word for Shalom. The word shalom is also found in many other expressions and names. Its equivalent
cognate in
Arabic is
salaam,
sliem in
Maltese,
Shlama in
Syriac-Assyrian and
sälam in
Ethiopian Semitic languages from the Proto-Semitic
root Š-L-M.