Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Yitzhak Sapir <yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com>]

On 11/20/05, Dr. Joel M. Hoffman wrote:

> One example I often use in discussing etymology is the English word
> "patently."  By definition, a "patent" must be non-obvious.
>
> Yet "patently" means "obviously."
>
> Another example comes from the shared etymology of "glamor" and
> "grammar," though many people don't see the glamor in learning
> grammar.  (I suspect the readers of this list are the exception.)
>
> I have more examples on page 4 of:
>
>   http://www.exc.com/JoelHoffman/LEUVEN1998/handout.pdf
>

Do you mean section 4.2?  It's on page 5.

In any case, "patent" and the examples on 4.2 (15), "demand",
"medicine", as well as "grammar" are all borrowings, although at
an earlier stage of the language.  They should thus be listed on
section 4.2 (16) "Borrowing" rather than 4.2 (15) "Cognates."  I don't
think that you can compare the mechanics and subsequent results
of cognates and borrowings although it may be hard (especially in a
Semitic to Semitic language borrowing such as Aramaic into Hebrew)
to tell a cognate from a borrowed word without seeing an attested form
of the language prior to the borrowing.  Also, Modern Hebrew "express"
means "no or few stops on the way", not "local."   If you go to
http://www.egged.co.il/ and look up bus #394, for example, you'll see
that it is listed as an "express" type bus even though it departs from
Tel Aviv Central Bus Station to Eilat.

Yitzhak Sapir