The origin is unknown. It would be tempting to identify it with Gez. ṣaraba ‘to hew,’ ṣarb ‘plank,’ ṣərrāb ‘splinter, shaving’ and its cognates throughout EthS (CDG 563), but this comparison is difficult in view of reliable parallels with ṣ elsewhere in Semitic (notably, in Soq. ṣérob ‘couper,’ LS 357). (Kogan 2015:575)