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E 0986 WEALG
Old English " wealg " is of
Germanic origin .
H 0344 ל ע ג
Concept of root : disgust
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Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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ל ע ג
ל ע ג
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ga‛al;
go‛al
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to
loath, feel disgust
loathing, disgust
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Related English words
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Old English: wealg
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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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ל ע ג
-
ל ע ג
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ga‛al;
-
go‛al
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to loath, feel disgust;
loathing, disgust
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g . ‛ . l
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Dutch
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walgen
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walghen
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to loath, feel disgust
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w . l g
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Old English
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wealg
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disgust
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w . l g
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Proto-Semitic *GA ‛AL --- *WALG- Proto-Germanic
The meanings are very near, but the sounds deviate quite a bit. We do not know any convincing etymology for the Old English and Dutch words . There is the Old English noun "wealg" to go by. One should not believe that the word is the same as "to wallow", which may be one of the consequences of being sick, but than incredibly sick. But the origin may be common, regarding literal or figurative rolling . The verb " to wallow" in fact has a predecessor in Old English that also lacks the final G in the root : " wealwian ". In Hebrew we know a bit more.
There is anyhow a number of instances in which we see a Germanic word that begins with W correspond in meaning with a Hebrew root that begins with G. In particular regarding such concepts as " round " and " roll" .
There can have been a metathesis of the sound " L ", that has such a tendency together with the " R ". Then the " L " came after the guttural "Ayin" in Semitic and before the guttural " G " in Germanic. It is also possible that both in Semitic and in Germanic the words of this entry that express nausea, or a turning of the stomach, have been coined on the basis of words round the concept of "rolling". In Old High German there is a "walgon = to roll". And Hebrew "ג
ל
ג ל ,
, galgal = to roll".
Note:
- Hebrew has two verbs. The stronger one, shown here, is "
ג
ע
ל ,
, ga‛al" and expresses loathing and disgust. The less strong one is "
ג
א
ל , ga’al" that talks about impurity and contamination. This in itself is a very interesting example of root-building in Hebrew. By changing the central consonant into a more expressive one , a diversification takes place and a new root is brought into life. In this case the change is from Aleph to Ayin and this is a not unfrequent development.
One may ask how also the concept of "impurity" and "contamination" is related with that of "rolling". The word " revulsion " gives us a conceptual and linguistic support .
Note:
- Proto-Semitic The first root is also used in the Aramaic verbal form "א י ת ג ע ל, itg‛al = it was fouled, soiled". This gives a be it rather narrow basis for a hypothesis for Proto-Semitic "* ג ע ל, G Ayin L".
Note:
- Germanic, in case there has not been a metathesis between " ALG " and " ‛AyinAL", may simply have added the G in an action of compensation in a word that requires strong expression . The sound " G " known to be used without words to express disgust and nausea.
Note:
- Old English, together with Dutch , has in these words probable cognates in other words that indicate rolling movements or sensations of rolling .
See entry E 0402 (Hebrew 0354) about German "Welle" and English "gulf".
Note:
- Proto-Germanic. There is not much information for a hypothesis. It is possible that both in Germanic and in Semitic a word for "loathing" and "disgust" has been created on the basis of a root for "to roll". Old High German uses the verb "walgon" for " to roll". Proto-Germanic possibly had "*W A LG-".
Note:
- Indo-European. There seems to be no information for a hypothesis different from Germanic. Cognates in other branches are not known. But if as often is said, "Old English "wealg" and Dutch "walgen" are related to the Dutch verb "walen = to roll", the Indo-European form is "*W È L-", as seen in Entry H 0995 (Hebrew 0359).
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| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 18/10/2012 at 14.12.11 |
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