E 0642          ORE

The word "ore"is of Germanic origin

H 0058           א ר ד

Concept of root: bronze

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

א ר ד

arad

bronze

Related English words

ore

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

א ר ד

arad

bronze

a r . d

Sumerian, Akkadian

urud, urdu

urdu

copper

u r d

Latin

aes, aeris ;

-

raudus, rudus

és, éris ;

-

raudus, rudus

ore, copper, bronze ; uncoined copper piece

ae r ;

-

r (u) d .

-

English

ore

ore

o r (e)

Old English

ora ; 

-  

ār

ore, raw metal ; brass

o r (a)

a r

Middle Dutch

eer, ere

eer, ere

copper , metal

a r

 

 

Proto-Semitic *ŪRD --- *ŌRD- Indo-European languages

 

 

The New Hebrew word " arad " for " bronze" has been based on old Akkadian " urdu" , which would leave it fully Semitic. But it is also supposed that the Babylonians or Akkadians borrowed this word from the Sumerians . There is no certainty on this point though. Anyhow our Table mentions Sumerian . This means that the word "arad" might yet be of Non-Semitic origin .

 

Quite understandably an internationally known, commercialized and widely used material as copper can have words of the same origin in many languages. It is also understandable that this word is based upon terms developed from words for "earth", as the metal was found in metal-holding earth. In this case , where the root "arad" has the "A + R" in common with other words indicating "earth" and "ore", a Semitic origin seems obvious for Akkadian, or even more a similarity between groups of languages, among which Semitic and Indo European. Sumerian is a language of unknown affinities.

 

Note:
  • Iron, IJzer. The word "ijzer" is Dutch for "iron". In Old English we find "isern", but also "iren" and "isen". This last version is like German "Eisen". Obviously the N that was added in many Germanic tongues, made life difficult for the original R , thus leading to German "Eisen".The origin in Old Germanic would have been "isarna", rather like Gothic "isarn". A hypothesis is that these older words, perhaps best conserved in Dutch "ijzer", after Middle Dutch "iser", are a composition. The first part, "is", meaning "strong" and the second part referring to the less strong already known metal "copper" or "ar". As is known , copper and its alloy bronze, were widely used for the production of arms and tools, before iron became known. The main advantage of iron was that is was adapt for making harder, stronger metal tools and arms. So the new stronger metal may have been named "strong copper", or perhaps in the view of the moment " strong metal".

 

Note:
  • Sumerian. There is no agreement among scholars about where to place Sumerian and the Sumerians with regard to Indo-European and Semitic. Anyhow the above mentioned Sumerian word "urud" seems to be well related to both groups.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic.. Only Akkadian "urdu" gives some support for a hypothesis for Proto-Semitic "* ו ר ד , urd = bronze".

 

Note:
  • Latin. The Latin word "aes, gen, aeris = ore, bronze", name given to the first metal that was found and used, is sometimes wrongly seen as derived from a hypothetical older "*aios". This may have been suggested by the existence of Old Indian "á,yas = iron, metal". But the "R" in the genitive "aeris", not present in the nominative in line with common rules in Latin, is part of the original root. Besides this in the Old Indian word the final " S " is not part of the root.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. One probably must distinguish well between the meanings "ore" , "copper" or "bronze" and "iron". The first one is expressed in words like Dutch "oer" that are very near to words meaning "earth" that have no final dental, as seen in entry E 0282 (Hebrew 0057). Old Norse here has "aurr".

     

    But also in words that have a final dental as seen in this entry E 0642 (Hebrew 0058), for example Old Saxon "arut". The name of the well known ore of the bronze age is still seen in the small Scandinavian coins called "öre" that has its sisters in older Dutch "oortje" and Old Icelandic "řrtog". Modern German has "Erz" and Dutch "erts", but these are clearly later developments from the predecessors "er ( long E ) " and "eer". Old English had "ar ( with a long A)", that meant "ore" as well as "copper, brass".

     

    Then there also words with a dental like "D" as Old Norse "rauði = red ore", but seemingly indicating iron ore, not copper ore. The word "rauð means anyhow the color "red". See our Note on Indo-European. A probable Proto-Germanic was "*AR-", with a long A, meaning "ore" and "earth" and used also to indicate the first metal won from the earth, that is copper with its alloys. Besides this already in Proto-Germanic versions "*UR-" and "*OR-"with long vowels were developed to express specifically "ore" and the copper that was won from it.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. Russian " р у д а, ruda = ore", the same as Old Church Slavonic and other Slavic languages, points at a Slavic : " RU D-", which is the same root that expresses the color "red". Latin "rauds" indicates a "R U D-" as well. The odd thing is that Latin "rudis" says "raw, rough, not worked". For the words with a " D "-like consonant there is no clarity about their origin.

     

    For the words that consist of a vowel or diphthong plus " R " , as seen in the Note on Proto-Germanic, there is little more information. Celtic gives us Old Irish "ur = earth, clay". We have not sufficient material to support the yet rather probable similarity of Indo-European with Proto-Germanic. We refer for this to entry E 0283 (Hebrew 0068). When people discovered that they could win metal from the ground, they based their indications on words for "earth".

     

    It is quite possible that Indo-European languages knew a form "Ō R-" as well as a "Ō R D-, with which were indicated grounds from which metals were won. It is hard to establich if this may have been the case for a still undivided original Indo-European, that may have split before metals were won.

 

Note:
  • Gold. The Germanic and Slavic words for "gold" are related. Often we find "S" or "Z" in Slavic where Germanic has "K" or "G". Thus we find Russian "золото (zoloto)" for English "gold". But in Latin we find "aurum", obviously a relative of the root "A R" of this entry. The greater richness of the metal has then as it appears been expressed by the use of a different, more brillant double vowel : "AUR" instead of simply "AER", "AR" or "OR" for copper and the minerals it was found in. Later gold in Latin languages has yet become "oro" , as generally Latin "AU" has become "Ō".

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 21/12/2012 at 14.01.12