Inherited from Proto-Semitic *laḥm- (“food, eatables; meat, bread”), from Proto-Afroasiatic *laḥam- (“food”). Cognate with Aramaic לַחְמָא (laḥmā), Classical Syriac ܠܚܡܐ (laḥmā), Hebrew לֶחֶם (léḥem), Ugaritic 𐎍𐎈𐎎 (lḥm /laḥmu/), Ge'ez ላህም (lahm), all meaning “food” or “bread”. The varying semantic developments are due to the differing agriculture and diets of the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent.