חֲסַם ², חֲסַם ch. same. Part. pass. חֲסִים bright and hard, flinty.—Pl. חֲסִימִין. Targ. Y. II, Deut. VIII, 9; (Y. I שאילן מסימן, read: הֲסִימַן fem. pl.). Targ. Y. ib. XXXIII, 25.
    Pa. - חַסֵּם [to scrape, cmp. גמגם, חָכַךְ II] to hesitate, be uncertain what to do. Sabb. 147ᵃ הוה קא מְחַסֵּם וכ׳ he hesitated to hand it to him. Keth. 20ᵇ. B. Mets. 23ᵇ. Ḥull. 50ᵃ. [Ar. a. some Mss. have הסם; v. Koh. Ar. Compl. s. v. הסם a. Rabb. D. S. to B. Mets. l. c.]
    Ithpa. - אִתְחַסֵּם 1) to receive a steel edge; trnsf. (of the mouth) to become able to speak. Lev. R. s. 23; Cant. R. to II, 2 אתח׳ ר׳ וכ׳ R. E. (who on a former occasion was unable to pronounce a blessing) has received a steel edge, and they named him R. E. Ḥisma; [Ar.: הא חֲסִים אלעזר, v. supra]. —2) to rub against, trnsf. (cmp. גָּרַר) to seek a quarrel, to vie with (v. P. Sm. 1333). Targ. Prov. XXIV, 19 (h. text תתחר).