E 0055          AUDIO

 

The word “audio” comes from Latin

 

H 0101            ן ז א  , ז ו א*

 

Concept of word : to use one’s ears

 

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ן ז א ;

ן ז א ;

ז ו א *

ozen ;

azan ;

*awaz

ear ;

to hear, listen ;

to hear

 

 

Related English words

none

 

 

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ן ז א ;

ן ז א ;

-

 ז ו א*

ozen ;

azan ;

-

*awaz

ear ;

to hear, listen ;

to hear

o z (n );

a z (n) ;

-

*a w z

Greek

αισθαινο-μαι;

-

*αFιςω > αιω

aisthano-mai;

-

*awiso > ayò

to perceive (also by hearing);

to hear

-

*a w s

Latin

audio < *auiz-dio ;

ausculto

audio < *awizdio ;

ausculto

to hear ;

-

to listen

*a u s

Gothic

auso

auso

ear

a u s

Proto-Germanic

*auzo/*auso

auzo, auso

ear

 

a u z/s

 

 

Proto-Semitic *OZEN < *AWAZ --- *AVIZ Indo-European

 

 

From Greek some words have disappeared, others developed. Essential to our comparison is the older word “awis” with its “*A W S” This has strong similarity with the supposed original Hebrew “A W Z”

 

 

Note:
  • Greek. The word “aisthanomai” is a medio-passive form of disappeared “aisthano”, that must have meant the action that has led to that of “to perceive”. Such actions can be looking, hearing etc.. The other word, “*ayò” meaning “to hear” , also originated from the root “A W S” and must have been “*awyò” or “awò”. Thus the older Greek form was "*AW I S-".

 

Note:
  • Hebrew. In modern Hebrew we have the meaning of “to listen” for the basic verb “azan” as well as the causative form “he’ezin”. This causative verb based on an old pre-Biblical verb “*azan”, is also found in the Bible itself with the heavier meaning of “to give hearing, attention to..” The intensive form “izzen” in the Bible said : “to ponder”, apparently the things one hears.

     

    We suppose that the root “A Z N” received the “N” to form the noun “ear” to express “that with which one hears”. Thus it was composed of an older “Aleph Waw Zain ”, identical in meaning and nearly identical in sound with Greek “A W S”. Consequently and in order to be functional in the Hebrew three-consonant-system for roots, it has to lose the middle consonant “W” The sequence being : “Aleph Waw Zain ” + “Nun ” > “Aleph Zain Nun ”. The logic of the development is all there and is supported by the Greek one. It is confirmed by Latin events.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. As can be seen also in Latin, as well as in Germanic, words for "ear" , beginning with a vowel, or as defined in Hebrew "beginning with an Aleph" , tend to use as the following consonant among others "S, Z, DH (which sounds near "Z") or D". Some examples in Semitic are :

     

    Aramaic "א ו ד נ א, 'udĕn'à" , Syriac "א ד נ א, 'edĕn'à" , Akkadian "uznu", Ethiopian "ezn", Arabic "udhn" and Ugaritic "udn", with as seen before Hebrew "'ozen". For Proto-Semitic the question becomes if either "D" or "Z" came first or if both existed already. Seen the fact that also in older Latin one sees the "Z", this consonant better not be excluded for the original role. But the "D" may already have been in development. Proto-Semitic probably had "* א ז ן, Aleph, Zain, Nun", but possibly also already "*א ד ן, Aleph. Daleth, Nun".

 

Note:
  • Latin has several words akin to each other: “ausculto”, “audio” and “auris (*ausis)”. This last word says “ear” and is related to English and other Germanic languages. In this root “R” and “S” interchange and do so even within Latin. The “R” is seen as more recent substitution. In Gothic there still was an “S” in “ausô (ear)”.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic Probably on the basis of Gothic, that is East-Germanic, the hypothesis for Proto-Germanic is "*auso/*auzo" for "ear". The version "auzo" seems more convincing, as the letter Z is also found in the Hebrew root.

     

    But on the other hand the Gothic "A+U" is a probable development in order to pronounce differently an earlier long vowel " Ō " as is seen in West Germanic. English "EA" in "ear" is a development out of that long vowel "Ō".

     

    But there remains another question mark, as West- and North-Germanic languages all have an "R" instead of a Z os S, as is seen in English "ear" and "hear". We add that the R is also found in Latin "auris = ear", and that Lithuanian has an "S" in "ausis". The question remains then if Proto-Germanic already had introduced the in this case typical Germanic "R" . Anyhow there must have been "*Ō, Z-", but possibly also already "*Ō R-". The "H" in English "to hear" and its sisters in other Germanic languages, is a confirming prefix.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. The somewhat similar looking words Old Indian "āvis = obviously, in front of your eyes" and Avestan "āvish" with the same meaning have no reference to "hearing" at all and it is not certain that they, as is presumed, are related.

     

    Therefore we must base our hypothesis on the available information from Latin, Greek and Germanic. Supposing that the dentals , "D" in Latin and "TH" in Greek, are later developments, this leads for "to hear, perceive with the ears" to an Indo-European "*AV I S-, or perhaps rather "*AV I Z- that would lead more easily to the Greek "TH" and Latin "D". Besides this for the "ear" the hypothesis is an Indo-European "*AV I R-".

 

 

 
"...the town, to which was given the name Babel, because it was there that the Lord confused the language of all the world on the face of which He dispersed them. GENESIS 11,9"
 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 21/12/2012 at 17.21.34