E 0615          NECK

The word "neck" is of Germanic origin

H 0160            ק נ ע

Concept of root : collared neck

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ק נ ע

‛anaq,

put around neck

Related English words

neck

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ק נ ע

‛anaq

put around neck

‛a n q

Latin

anus, anulus;

anculus

anus, anulus;

anculus

ring ;

-

slave

a n ;

-

a n k

English

neck

neck

n ck

Armenian

anur

anur

collar

a n r

 

 

Proto-Semitic *‛ANAQ --- *ANK-, *NAKK- Proto-Germanic

 

 

It is quite normal that words for "neck" and "collar" are shaped on the basis of the same root. For the sake of the argument we added the word from Armenian, which belongs to the Indo-European group of languages. Another important fact is that in many parts of the words slaves became a collar around their neck.

 

 

Note:
  • Latin. There is not much certainty about the origin of the word "anus". The "anulus" we added because this diminutive clearly means a ring. So also "anus" must have meant "ring" or "circle", as is the common opinion. The modern European (and English) use of "anus" is just based on an euphemistic description of that part of the human body. Latin also has the abovementioned word "anculus" and the better known "ancilla", developed from "ancula", all words that mean "slave" in respectively male and female versions.

 

Note:
  • Neck, German "Nacke" and Dutch "nek" have many Germanic cognates as shown in the following Note. Italian "nuca" is considered of uncertain etymology, but probably of Germanic origin . But there is a word "nukha’a" in Arabic, that means "neck," or "spine-marrow". Therefore we may assume that Hebrew "anaq" comes from a root *"N Q" and that the Ayin has been placed in front of this root, not to indicate the action of placing something around a neck, but confirming the meaning "neck" and using this root in a pregnant way for the verb "anaq". With that we can see even more clearly the similarity between Semitic and Germanic.

 

Note:

     

  • Germanic. We further find the following words for "neck" :

     

    Gothic anga

     

    Old High German ancha, enka, hnac, nac

     

    Middle High German anke, nac(k), nacke

     

    Old English hnecca

     

    Old Norse hnakki. hnakkr

     

    Old Swedish nakke

     

    Old Danish nakkę

     

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. In Germanic languages one sees words for "neck" with an initial "A" and many more without such an initial vowel. Four older words draw our attention. Gothic "hals-anga", Old High German "ancha, enka" and Middle High German "anke" carry the meaning of "neck". This brings us nearer to Semitic with a probable Proto-Germanic that has an initial vowel A : "*A N G" or rather more probably "*A N K".

     

    One may ask if a metathesis may have taken place sometime, between "A N K" and N A K". This is possible, but not certain as words with initial vowel are found in very few instances. The versions that begin with "HN", should be a typical, but yet limited Nordic development that also had influenced Old English. Perhaps it has been used also in Old High German. This initial "HN", created in Germanic, later has disappeared, except in Icelandic "hnakki", in contrast with Faroese "nakki".

     

    Consequently, metathesis or not, Proto-Germanic besides the two mentioned versions, probably also had"*N A KK-" or possibly already as well "*N E KK-".

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. Outside Germanic there is little information available.

     

    Celtic has an Old Irish "cnocc = hill, small height", that is considered related, together with Cymric "cnwch" ot "cnuch" This word is found in " chwch gwegil = neck ", in which the "gil" < cil stands for "backside, neck". There is no clear link to Germanic.

     

    Tocharian "kñuk = "neck, throat"

     

    A hypothesis for Indo-European would be daring.

 

Note:
  • Hebrew has another word, partly similar, that sounds "‛aną", and means both "to drudge" and "be in misery". Both idea’s are near to expressing the life of a slave with a collared neck ! By the way, in Dutch a normal word for "to drudge" or "to slave away", is the verb "sloven". One cannot help thinking that this may be related to the word "slave". In Dutch this is "slaaf" and one who drudges is a "sloof". But in the case of Hebrew there are two independent, different roots, as just mentioned. Yet the "drudging slave" comes up again some way also with the root " Ayin N Q ", in the word " ‛eneq = gift to slave at his emancipation "

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic This root is found in Aramaic "ע נ ק א , ‛unq'ą = neck,‛inq'ą= necklace" . But also in Arabic we find a word " 'unq = neck ". This is especially interesting as it shows a strong link with English " neck ". Proto-Semitic in all probability already used the root "* ע נ ק, Ayin N Q."

 

 

 

 
"...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: 22/12/2012 at 15.40.17