E 0755          SALIENT

The word "salient" is of Latin origin

H 0126          ה ל ע

Concept of root : rise

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ה ל ע

‛alà

to rise

Related English words

salient

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ה ל ע

‛alà

to rise

׳a l

Greek

άλλομαι

hallomai

to jump up

 a l

Latin

salire

salire

to jump(up)

s a l

Italian

salire

salire

to rise

s a l

English

salient

salient

s a l

 

 

Proto-Semitic *‛ALA --- *SAL Indo-European

 

 

This entry is to be seen in relation to number E 0756 (Hebrew 0854) . By confronting the two we see that also within Hebrew a root may develop with an initial consonant S as an alternative to starting with the famous " Ayin " , the for Europeans unknown guttural sound in front of vowels .

 

European languages, for various reasons, place an "S" in front of older existing roots. Usually the reason lies in a reinforcement of its meaning, but other times it may have a diversifying function. The reinforcement of the way one expresses itself is often found in Hebrew by starting the word with that guttural "ayin" that is mostly like a nearly inaudible "NG". That is the cause why we find similarities between European words beginning with "S" and Hebrew words beginning with an Ayin.

 

 

Note:
  • Latin and Italian. Italian is about the most natural development of Latin, though it has a number of Germanic loanwords inserted into its vocabulary. But the word "salire" in Latin was used as "to jump up" and even mostly to say simply "to jump". We must suppose that Italian has recuperated an original meaning of the root "sal" by using it to express "rising" in general. A meaning probably never quite lost. Interesting in this context is that Spanish uses the verb "salir" in the meaning of "to go out, go away, depart".

 

Note:
  • Hebrew. The "Y" as a third consonant can be seen in a number of verbal forms. It has been introduced as an extension of the original two-consonant root "A L" as a way to shape a verb. This is confirmed by the existence of the noun " 'al " for "height" and the preposition " 'al " for "on".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic is sometimes seen with a third consonant "Y" developed out of an earlier "W". This is based on the existence of a vowel "U" in Akkadian . In fact frequently we see in Semitic how an original "WAW" (pronounced W, O, U or F) develops into a "Y" ( pronounced as Y or I). In this case it is probable that this change has occurred already during the period of Proto-Semitic. But the "U" may also rather be considered a suffix that has absorbed the accentuated vowel "I" or "A" that preceded it.

     

    Others suppose a doubled root "*Ayin L Ayin L" or even "*L Ayin L". These are possible ways in which an original root may develop.

     

    Anyhow an original root "*ע ל ה" * Ayin . L , with accentuated vowel", is the one that must have been Proto-Semitic. Naturally the spelling is hypothetical.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European has a hypothesis "*S A L-", in harmony with Latin and Greek, which seems right: "*S A L-". Yet as explained in E 0756 (Hebrew 0854), there may have been also, or still, a form "*S A L T-".

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 22/12/2012 at 14.22.26