Also in Mhr. ˀāšōm ‘to cut off, to sever’. Leslau’s comparison (LS 330) to Arb. γšm ‘to strike and beat vehemently’ can scarcely be correct as neither γ nor š in Arabic are regular equivalents of the corresponding Mehri segments. Neither a borrowing from Arabic is feasible (in this case, γ would be preserved in Mehri). More promising phonologically is Syr. ˁšam ‘oppressit, coegit, compulit’, also compared by Leslau.