[b-hebrew] Lexical question
Isaac Fried
if at math.bu.edu
Fri Jul 31 17:48:59 EDT 2009
Every Hebrew word is derived from a meaningful root. Words derived
from the same root need not be "horizontally" related. Think about
the minimal pairs KPOR, 'frost, crust", and KPIR, 'lion'; or "KESEP",
'silver'', and KISUPIM, 'yearning'.
The basic meaning of $Q is 'elevated, elongated, large, piled up'.
$UK is an elevated (paved?) path, $OK is the long and fleshy [SAGI)]
leg part. The modern Hebrew $QIQAH, 'eagerness, desire', from the
biblical root $QQ, is an emotional build-up.
Isaac Fried, Boston University
On Jul 31, 2009, at 3:04 PM, Vadim Cherny wrote:
> The thing is, Hebrew lacks homonyms. What you see as homonyms are
> actually related meanings. As Karl saw for himself, finding the common
> meaning requires some study but it is always there. This is a function
> of root cells. I take Steinberg's dictionary for a fine example of
> such
> search.
>
> Vadim Cherny
>
>>
>> Ishinan: My suggestion is to apply the comparative method among
>> other daughter Semitic languages (such as Akkadian, Ugaritic,
>> Arabic, Ge?ez, etc.) to your examples. Consult the respective
>> Proto-Semitic etymologies. You'll actually discover that the
>> examples you gave above are homonyms.
>>
>> I have found that sometimes the entries in Strong's Exhaustive
>> Concordance of the Bible can be misleading.
>>
>> For example:
>>
>> 7783 shuwq overflow, water.
>> 7784 shuwq shook street.
>> 7785 showq shoke the (lower) leg/shin.
>>
>> These are not related. Hope this helps.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Ishinan B. Ishibashi
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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