An effort, in Hebrew, is מאמץ. To make an effort is either לעשות מאמץ – literally, to make an effort, or the reflexive התפעל verb להתאמץ. And to flex a muscle? That’s לאמץ שריר, where לאמץ is a פיעל verb.
This last word לאמץ also means to adopt – a child or animal, or something more abstract such as an idea.
In context:
אחרי שנים של התלבטות הם סוף סוף החליטו לאמץ ילד.
After years of deliberation they finally decided to adopt a child.
What does effort have to do with adoption? It’s most likely the effort that goes into the process of making a non-biological child become a full member of the family that created this word, appearing already in the Hebrew Bible.
