Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>]

I will give you the gist of it. First, I believe that the presence of  
the letter R in a Hebrew root indicates reference to an aggregated  
material state. For instance, the verb, RAAH, ראה 'see',  
essentially means 'to separate, differentiate, and distinguish the  
discerned details', while the verb RAAH, רעה, 'graze', essentially  
means 'to roam freely'.
The root PTR, פתר, 'solve, unravel, clear-up', essentially means to  
'break-up, or relieve, a difficulty'.
This root is a member of the family of roots

בדר, בזר, בסר, בצר, בשר, בתר
פדר, פזר, פטר, פצר, פשר, פתר

all of the same basic meaning.

Isaac Fried, Boston University
On Mar 10, 2010, at 7:26 AM, berlant AT advanced-studies.org wrote:

> Isaac,
>
> Thanks very much for responding to my question, but i'm wondering  
> if you'd be kind enough to transliterate the etymology you give for  
> ptr for me, as doing that would save me a great deal time.
>
> As I mentioned, none of the etymological dictionaries i've examined  
> resolved the word.
>
> Thanks  very much in advance.
>
> Steve Berlant