Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Gene,

> I have an eytmology opinion question for the list
> members. When one language is transliterated into
> another language, or through three or four languages,
> does the final word still retain the meaning of the
> original word?

It depends what you mean by transliteration, but I have heard the 
term used of the English word "baptize." The English word is not 
really a translation ("dip, immerse") but just the transferral of 
sound and letters from the Greek alphabet into English equivalents. 
In this case the English word clearly has developed a slightly 
different and more limited range of meaning than the Greek word 
originally had.

                                Yours,
                                Harold Holmyard