Definition

a word; collectively, a discourse; figuratively, a topic

Etymology

from H4448 (מָלַל) (plural masculine as if from מִלֶּה;

Where the KJV renders it

• answer
• by-word
• matter
• any thing (what) to say
• to speak(-ing)
• speak
• talking
• word

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.