מַחְמָד“desire”מַחְמָד (machmad) is the ordinary spelling of this word and carries nearly all of its uses: something or someone a person holds precious, whether the silver furnishings of the temple, a treasured homeland, or a beloved wife and children. The look-alike מַחְמֻד (machmud) is the very same word with slightly different vowels and means exactly the same thing, so anything true of one is true of the other.