Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jonathan Mohler <jonathan.mohler AT gmail.com>]

Hi Isaac,

Isn't KARKAR just another circle word.

Isaac Mozeson says:

"CYCLE is from Greek kuklos (circle); the alleged Indo-European “root” is k(w)el (to revolve, move around, sojourn, dwell).

The guttural shift from גל   GL to KL mathches  what the AHD found to reconstruct their “root.”         גל GahL is a circular mound or wave – see GALE.  עגיל   GHaGeeYL is a ring or earring (Numbers 31:50).  עגל [A]GahL is to roll; עגל  [A]GoaL means round (I Kings 7:31).   עגול   GHeeGOOL is a circle (IKings7:23). The Indo-European “root” for CIRCLE, sker (to turn, bend), is related to the sound of   סחר   $aK[H]aR (to travel around), while the meanings of Indo-European k(w)el match the GR word    גור GooWR (dwell, sojourn - Genesis32:5).

Greek kirkos (a ring), Sanskrit cakram (circle), and Russian krug (circle) indicate that a double-guttural + liquid [K-K/G-L/R] is the more common axis to spin words of roundness on.

 Edenic offers: גלגל   GaLGahL (wheel), גלגל   GiLGaiL (to roll, revolve, wander),  K[H]ahG (to make a cycle: a cyclical holy day     – see HAGIOGRAPHA ),  חגור   K[H]ahGOAR (belt),  כרכור   KIRKOOR (circle: to whirl),   עגלה   GHaGaLaH (cart, wagon), עגלגלת   [A]GooLGeLeT (elliptic), and קערה     Q’GHahRaH (bowl). For the vowel-Ayin with Gimel – see EGG.

http://www.edenics.net/english-word-origins.aspx?word=CIRCLE

Jonathan Mohler

On Jul 9, 2013, at 10:50 PM, b-hebrew-request AT lists.ibiblio.org wrote:

I see no evidence that the act KARKAR is 'to whirl', but I know that some 

think so. Some 100 years ago when a Hebrew equivalent was sought for "dreidl", 

the great Hebrew poet X. N. Bialik suggested KIRKAR, but it failed to take hold, 

and what is used now is סביבון SBIYBON, from the act SABAB, 'go around', 

as the classical Hebrew nursery rhyme says