E 0119          BREECHES

The word " breeches " is of Germanic origin

H 0272          ך ר ב

Concept of root : to kneel

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ך ר ב

barakh; berekh

to kneel; knee

Related English words

breeches

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ך ר ב

barakh; berekh

to kneel;

knee

b . r . kh

Greek

βρακαι

brakai

breeches

b r . k

Latin

bracae

braké

breeches

b r . c

English

breeches

breeches

b r . ch

Old English

broc,

pl. brec

breeches

b r . c

Dutch

broek

bruk

breeches

b r . k

 

 

Proto-Semitic *BEREK --- *BRĂK " Indo-European

 

 

The original meaning of the English and Dutch words is that of leg-coverings. English breeches are litterally "knee-trousers" , that reach to or just below the knee . Later on the word has become to mean any kind of trousers. The word is found in Germanic and Celtic, and there is no explanation offered for its forming, besides the similarity with the Hebrew root. But as we will see, it has cognates in Latin and Greek.

 

 

Note:
  • Hebrew has, with the same or similar root, seen in entry E 0697 (Hebrew 0270), the message of "to praise", and also "to bless", as is done both by God and by human beings, such as the father of a family. One might also be inclined to see this as a natural development. In the action of blessing and being blessed, the person at the receiving end may be kneeling. But, if that is so, then the secondary meaning, that of kneeling, in our view must have been shaped very long ago in Hebrew, before the days of Abraham. Why ?

     

    To explain this one must consider the different approach of the position before God (in praying) in the so-called "three" great monotheistic religions. The Christian kneels before his God, the Moslim crouches down , touching the ground with his head before God. But the Jew does neither. The Jew stands in front of God. Perhaps this has been different before Abraham received Gods blessings.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic.

     

    The Hebrew root " B R K " comes from an original Proto-Semitic root "* B R K ". This root is also seen in Aramaic and Syriac "ב ר ך B R K, barekh and berekh" , Arabic "bāraka", OS Arabic "ב ר ך, B R K" and Ethiopian "bāraka", all with the message of "kneeling".

     

    Proto-Semitic probably already used this same root : "*ב ר ך, B R K . "

     

    We have no indications that the change in pronunciation of the third consonant, from " K " into " KH " , may have begun in Proto-Semitic. The " K " is present in several languages and must have been in use in Proto-Semitic. The vowels remain uncertain and in the comparison we have "BEREK".

 

Note:
  • English. One of the meanings of the singular noun "breech" , that of "buttocks" , has been derived from that of "breeches = trousers ". This is probable also when we look at the other meanings of "breech" . And there is Old English "brōc", singular with the plural "brēc", that has led to "breeches".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. Older Germanic languages have this root in Old Saxon "brōk", Old English "brōc", plural "brēc", Old Norse "brōk", Old High German "bruoh, bruohha" and Middle Dutch "broec, bruk". Proto-Germanic certainly had the consonants found in Semitic, but the vowel is uncertain. So we have either "*BR Ō K" or "*BR Ū K".

 

Note:
  • Greek and Latin for "trousers" both use a word in plural, just as is English usage. Also Italian "pantaloni" with the same meaning, is plural. But Dutch uses the word in singular. Plural "broeken" are more pairs of breeches. Hebrew in the Bible used the singular "מ כ נ ס , mikhnas", but in modern languages under European influence this became the plural, or really dual, "מ כ נ ס י ם, mikhnassaim" .

 

Note:
  • Indo-European.

     

    Latin"bracae, bragae = trousers" is considered a loanword from Celtic, because trousers were not common in Rome. But this becomes improbable if see the same root also in Greek.

     

    Greek has "βρακια, brakia = trousers". Aristophanes round 400 a.e.v. used this word. This means it can not have been loaned from Latin.

     

    Celtic offers a Breton "bragez and Old Gaelic "briogais".

     

    Indo-European probably had "*BR Ă K" .

 

 

 

 
"...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: 23/01/2013 at 14.15.19