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E 0304 ESSAY
The word "essay" comes from French .
H 0192 ה ש ע
Concept of root : to practice
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Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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ה ש ע
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‛assą
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to do, make, exercise
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Related English words
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essay ,
from French
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Comparison between European words and
Hebrew
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Languages
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Words
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Pronunciation
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English meanings
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Similarity in roots
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Hebrew
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ה ש ע
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‛assą
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to do, make, exercise
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‛a s y
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Greek
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ασκεω
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askeo
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to exercise
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a s k
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French
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essayer
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asséyé
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to exercise, try
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e s . y
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English
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essay
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essay
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e s . y
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The etymology of Greek "askeo" is unknown. The K-sound can well be an infix that stands for a beginning or preparatory action, in line with one of the basic idea’s of exercizing.
Note:
- French. Usually this word, essayer, is seen as derived from Vulgar Latin "exagiare", to weigh out. But also usually "unattested" is added. It is hard to guess where the word really comes from, as certainly there are no direct common sources between French and Greek, nor between French and Hebrew. Uncertainty will probably remain with us.
Note:
- Vowel. To avoid misunderstanding it may be useful to point out that vowels mostly are not decisive in the defining of meanings of roots. The actual Hebrew word ‛ assą has other forms with different vowels : "é‛čssé" means "I will practice".
Note:
- Hebrew also has the verb "
נ
ס
ה , nasą" that has an intensive version " nissč " , standing for "to try, test, proof, challenge" and that might be related to the words of this entry. In older words there is not always a strict distinction between the Samech
ס
and with the Sin
ש . The reader knows that this last sign can be Sin with the sound S or , and much more frequently, Shin with the sound SH. The initial N of "nissč" can be a prefix in front of an original root without N and the same meaning. This is hypothetical of course.
Note:
- Hebrew. The third consonant of this Hebrew root, the "Y", can still be seen in many verbal forms, such as "assiti = I did". It is found in OS Arabic and ;oabite and has cognates in Ugaritic " '.shy " and Arabic " sa'ay ".
Note:
- Proto-Semitic. Proto-Semitic had the same root we see here for Hebrew. It is found in OS Arabic and Moabite and has cognates in Ugaritic " 'shy" and Arabic "sa'ay".
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| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: Monday 9 July 2012 at 13.08.10 |
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