إشبين

Meaning

1. somebody who is adduced as a witness to a baptism, godfather, baptismal sponsor
2. somebody who is adduced as a witness to a wedding, bridesman, groomsman, paranymph

Concepts

bridesmaid

godfather

godmother

groomsman

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ʔiʃ.biːn/

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Syriac ܫܰܘܫܒܺܝܢܳܐ (šawšəḇīnā), from Akkadian 𒋢𒊓𒁉𒉡 (/⁠susapinnu⁠/, “paranymph, friend of the bridegroom in a wedding ceremony”), also a foreign word, structure suggesting Anatolian, but strangely attested in Hittite as an Akkadogram.