Salaam, Shalom and Islam Come From One Root
Salaam is an Arabic greeting meaning peace. The same three-consonant root produces Islam, Muslim and the Hebrew shalom.
Salaam is an Arabic greeting: peace. Semitic languages build words from three-consonant roots, and this one — s-l-m — generates an unusually wide family: *salaam* (peace), *Islam* (submission), *Muslim* (one who submits) and, across the language border, the Hebrew *shalom*. English borrowed the greeting in the 1600s, along with the deep bow that went with it.
- A greeting meaning peace. *He offered a quiet salaam.*
- Salaam alaikum — peace be upon you. *The reply is wa alaikum salaam.*
- A low bow with the hand to the forehead. *She made a salaam.*
- Verb, to greet in this way. *He salaamed and withdrew.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | salaam | A formal salaam. |
| Plural | salaams | He sent his salaams. |
| Verb | salaam | They salaamed low. |
| Phrase | salaam alaikum | Peace be upon you. |
| Hebrew cognate | shalom | Shalom aleichem. |
- Salaam alaikum, he said at the door.The standard greeting.
- The envoy salaamed before the throne.Historical, the gesture.
- Give him my salaams.Old-fashioned: my regards.
The s-l-m family
- Salaam — peace, the greeting
- Islam — submission, to God
- Muslim — one who submits
- Salim — safe, sound, a common given name
- Shalom — the Hebrew cognate, same root, same meaning
Arabic *salam*, peace, from the root s-l-m. English recorded it in 1610s travel writing, first for the gesture and then for the greeting itself.
Are salaam and shalom the same word?
They are cognates: Arabic and Hebrew inherited the same Semitic root, so the words match in sound and meaning without either borrowing from the other.
How do you answer salaam alaikum?
With wa alaikum salaam — and upon you, peace.