2993: עכשיו Looks Interesting Mar 2, 2025

 The Hebrew word עכשיו (‘achshav), meaning ‘now’, looks strange for a Hebrew word. It does not follow any typical root, usually 3-consonants, yet it still takes what looks like a 3rd person singular possessive ending on a plural noun with  ־ָיו (-av), as in

ילד ← ילדים (yeled → yeldim) for ‘child’ → ‘children’

ילדו ← ילדיו (yeldo →yeldav) for ‘his child’ → ‘his children’.

It seems on both accounts are explained by the word עכשיו (achshav)—which was a later creation not used in the Torah—may be derived from עד כשעה (ad ksha'a) “until at this time” or עד כשהוא (ad kshehu) literally “until when it is”, with usage dating back to Late Antiquity. The spelling with י before the ו likely developed to clarify it has consonantal pronunciation as opposed to being like a vowel [see em kra/mater lectionis] similar to words like סתיו (stav) ‘autumn’ and indeed the possessive ending יו (-av).