harm
part of speech
noun (harm — uncountable); verb (harm, harms, harmed, harming)
meaning for a pupil
1) Hurt, damage or injury to a person, animal or thing. tree →
2) Verb: to hurt or damage someone or something. tree →
3) No harm in: it is not wrong or dangerous: «There's no harm in asking». tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In the Torah, "harm" often means a serious injury or a disaster that befalls someone. In Exodus it means injury to a woman or child, which is repaid with "life for life." In the later books it also means to hurt someone: God tells that His anointed ones and prophets must not be harmed, and Proverbs warns against quarrelling with one who has done no harm. Interpretation: "Life for life" is read by the rabbis as a demand for fair money payment for damage, not literal revenge. Jacob's fear for Benjamin's safety shows the sorrow of a father. Proverbs is read as teaching peace and fairness toward neighbours. In the primary lessons: In safety and kindness lessons: do no harm — don't hurt people, animals or the environment; some substances (bleach, medicine) can harm you; too much sun harms skin; pollution harms wildlife. In stories: a villain wants to harm someone; a hero keeps them from harm. Phrases: do harm, cause harm, come to no harm, out of harm's way, no harm done, there's no harm in, harmful, harmless.
examples
- But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life, (Torah EXO.21.23, JPS 1917) tree →
- But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said: 'Lest peradventure harm befall him.' (Torah GEN.42.4, JPS 1917) tree →
- and if ye take this one also from me, and harm befall him, ye will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. (Torah GEN.44.29, JPS 1917) tree →
- 'Touch not Mine anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.' (Writings 1CH.16.22, JPS 1917) tree →
- Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. (Writings PRO.3.30, JPS 1917) tree →
- Neither doth one thrust another, they march every one in his highway; and they break through the weapons, and suffer no harm. (Prophets JOL.2.8, JPS 1917) tree →
- Smoking harms your lungs. tree →
- The dog won't harm you. tree →
- Litter can harm wild animals. tree →
- Keep cleaning products out of harm's way. tree →
- There's no harm in asking for help. tree →
- No harm done — it was just a spilled drink. tree →
- The lost kitten came to no harm. tree →
- Too much sugar can harm your teeth. tree →
- They had done me no harm. tree →
note
Uncountable noun: «a lot of harm», never «a harm». Adjectives: harmful (causes harm), harmless (causes no harm). Regular verb: harmed. «Harmless» does not mean you should touch it — many harmless-looking things (berries, animals) can still hurt you.
In the corpora
- But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
- 'Touch not Mine anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.'
- Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
- 'Touch not Mine anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.'
- Fakes can spread faster than they can be removed; reporting them helps and sharing them harms.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «harm» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.