E 0484        IRE, IRASCIBLE

The words "ire" and "irascible" are, via Old French, of Latin origin .

H 0221        ר י ע

Concept of root : agitation

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ר י ע

‛ir

agitation

Related English words

ire, irascible

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ר י ע

‛ir

agitation

‛i r

Old Indian

irin

irin

angry, violent

 i r

Latin

ira

ira

anger

 i r

English

ire;

irascible

ire ;

irascible

i r

 

 

Hebrew *‛IR --- *IR- Indo-European

 

 

 

It is less often that the similarity is found so directly between Latin and Hebrew. But in this entry that fact is very clear. The final A in Latin "ira" is a suffix, used to make a female substantive out of a root.

 

The English words "ire" and "to err" are often considered as having the same root and, besides that, to be via Old French, of Latin origin, but this is far from certain. "To err" has sister words in Gothic "airzjan = to err " , Old English "ierre = erring" and Old High German "irron" = " to err", in modern German "irren". The existence of a Proto-Germanic predecessor is highly probable. That Proto-Germanic "* I RR-" is certainly related to Latin "errare".

 

The other word, "ire" of this entry, has an independent origin and is related to another Latin word : "ira = anger". The misunderstanding has been caused by the fact that German "irre", as already Old High German "irri" , carries both meanings, " erring" and "angry". But their origin is different, as shown by the other tongues. Finally, Middle Dutch uses two verbs, "arren" and "erren", both with two meanings : "to err" and "to be/make angry". The two roots, near each other, seem to have been mixed in popular language, as has been the case in German.

 

Note:
  • Hebrew also has the word "ע ר, ‛ar", that says "enemy". Certainly the enemy is one to get angry with or agitated by.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. Regretfully we have no evidence from other Semitic languages to allow a hypothesis different from Hebrew.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. The English word "ire" is often considered to come from Latin "ira" with the same meaning, but this idea is not convincing. The root is of probable Germanic origin, as is seen in Old English "eorre= angry, irre = anger" and "eorsian, yrsean = to make angry". Then there are Old Frisian "irre" and Old Saxon "irri" meaning "angry". Proto-Germanic may have been "*I RR -".

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. The similarity found between Old Indian, Latin and Germanic may induce us to hypothesize an Indo-European "*I R-".

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 05/10/2012 at 18.05.34