As mentioned in passing, it is also an entry to the Semitic languages, which are one of the great language families in historical and literary terms. A lot of the features listed are shared with its most distant cousin Akkadian, as spoken some four thousand years ago in Mesopotamia. Like the tri-consonant root system: Akkadian makarum "to flow (a river, irrigation, etc.)", but the derived noun is makkurum "commerce, business dealings". Arabic also has the mkr root, verb makara, noun makrum - meaning more like scheme or plot. (Fascinating little shift of meaning.)