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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Lexemes and meanings

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  • From: Isaac Fried <if AT math.bu.edu>
  • To: Ruth Mathys <ruth_mathys AT sil.org>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Lexemes and meanings
  • Date: Sat, 4 May 2013 23:27:59 -0400

1. "meaning" is a devilish thing, made so by the spread of analogies, shifts, figurativeness, affinities, implications, imageries, parallelisms, resemblances, etc..

2. As soon as one speaks about lexemes, one speaks about words, possibly of kindred meaning, but sufficiently different to deserve separate entries in the dictionary. To take an example from Hebrew: related to the act נשך NA$AK, 'bit', we have the "lexeme" נשיכה N$IYKAH, 'bite', (related to N$IYQAH, 'kiss', and more), and also the NE$EK 'usury', of Lev. 25: 35-37

וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו גר ותושב וחי עמך אל-תקח מאתו נשך ותרבית ויראת מאלהיך וחי אחיך עמך את כספך לא תתן לו בנשך ובמרבית לא תתן אכלך 

"And if thy brother be waxed poor, and his hand fail with thee; then thou shalt uphold him: as a stranger and a sojourner shall he live with thee. Take thou no interest of him or increase, but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy victuals for increase."

So what is this NE$EK, referred to money, and translated as "interest"? I think it is an initial bite subtracted from a monetary loan. And what is this MA-RB-IYT (of the root RB, 'many, much'), referred to food? I think it is a loan of seed, expected to be returned, at harvest time, with a, possibly hefty, gain.   

Isaac Fried, Boston University

On May 4, 2013, at 7:37 PM, Ruth Mathys wrote:

I've seen it claimed here repeatedly that a single lexeme necessarily has a

single meaning in all the contexts it is used in.  I think that is nonsense.

I won't attempt to prove it from Hebrew, but it is easy to demonstrate from

English.





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