E 0651          OVER

The word "over" is of Germanic origin

H 0104             ר ב ע

Concept of root : (to pass) over

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ר ב ע

‛avar

to pass over

Related English words

over

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ר ב ע

avar ‛over

to pass over

‛o v . r

English

over

over

o v . r

Dutch

over

over

over

o v . r

German

über

über

over

ü b . r

Latin

per

pèr

over, through

p . r

 

 

Proto-Semitic *‛AVAR, ‛OVER --- *OVER, "UPÈR Indo-European

 

 

This entry and four more , the numbers E 0331 (Hebrew 0105) , E 0345 (Hebrew 0106) and E 0939 (Hebrew 0107) and E 0629 (Hebrew 0108) all deal with the three-consonant combination " ע ב ר " . They all refer to different but related Indo European words regarding various concepts, all around the basic one of "one side and the other side, here and there, passing".

 

In this first case there is just the verb " to pass over" in Hebrew and the English word "over" with a couple of sisters. One must remark that in the Germanic languages we present prepositions, adverbs and prefixes, but in Hebrew a verb.

 

 

Note:
  • Hebrew and Proto-Semitic. Proto-Semitic is considered as having used the same root that is present in Hebrew, "*ע ב ר" . It is used in Aramaic, Syriac, Arabic and Akkadian.

     

    This entry is one of a group of six, all based on the same Proto-Semitic and Hebrew root , that has known a particularly rich development of related meanings, which have their counterparts in various European languages. The six entries are :
     E 0651 over                   (Hebrew 0104, to pass over)
     E 0331 ferry ( Dutch "veer")  (Hebrew 0105, to cross (over)
     E 0345 ford                   (Hebrew 0106, ford)
     E 0939 OE beran (Latin fero)  (Hebrew 0107, to pass, transport )
     E 0629 OE ofer(Du "overkant") (Hebrew 0108, other side)
     E 0344 for                    (Hebrew 0109, for, before)	
     
    Perhaps also E 0468 (Hebrew 0110) should be considered part of this group.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. The initial vowel is mostly an "O", but Old Saxon had both "obar" and "ubar". Old High German had "ubar" as preposition and prefix, with "ubiri" as the adverb. German has "über", but in dialect also "ober". Old English "ofer" and Gothic "ufar" add to the picture.

     

    One may suppose for Proto-Germanic an initial "O" and as second vowel an "E", like in the Hebrew participium "’over" (written "’ober"): "* O V (E) R"

     

 

Note:
  • Indo-European.

     

    Old Indian has "upári = over, on". Further there is "pārá" for "bringing across" and the causative "pāráyati" saying "to bring over, escort" can be seen as related to "to pass over". For "to carry" Old Indian has "bhárati; bhárti*.

     

    Avestan has "upairi = over, on". Then there is the a basic form "par-" that expresses "to pass through, to pass over". For "to carry" it uses "baraiti".

     

    Greek with the important word "ύπερ, hüpèr" among many meanings also says "over" in various senses, also that of an overcrossing movement.

     

     

    Indo-European. It is not probable that Germanic "OVER" developed out of an Indo-European "UPÈR". Therefor Indo-European already should have had two forms. For the concept "over" two initial vowels were used : " Ō " and also " Ū that in Greek became " Ü ". In Latin also an initial " S " was added : "super". Besides "*O V E R" the second Indo-European form is "*U P È R". In Greek the accent shifted and the vowel "Ü" received an aspiration: "Hüper". In this case the initial H-sound is not considered as developed out of an "S", though an "S" is present in Latin. In Old Indian and Avestan, as so often, the second vowel became" A ".

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 28/09/2012 at 15.30.31