GD 1055          KIES

H 0397            ש י כ ה

Concept of root : to bite

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ש י כ ה

hikkish

to bite

Related English words

Old Saxon ; kuse  

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ש י כ ה

hikkish

to bite

k . sh

Russian

кусать

kusatj

to bite

k . s

Middle Dutch

keesen;

kies, kiesetand

kézen;

-

kīs, kīzetant

to chew;

-

molar

k . s

Dutch

kies

kis

molar

k . s

Old Saxon

kuse

molar

k . s

 

 

Proto-Semitic *KOSH --- *KOS- Indo-European

 

 

 

This entry is related to number GD 1056 (Hebrew 0516) and it is useful to read that as well.

 

This Hebrew verb should be based , as a causative, on an older root, probably "*כ ו ש, K W SH" or in a classic pronunciation "*kosh". This would be very near to the Russian verb in the above table that has a root "kus" and a suffix "atj" for the forming of the infinitive. As often a version without " O ", using instead a vowel " A " has then developed "*כ ש ה, K SH H " or in a classic pronunciation "*kashà", that was present in Hebrew. Such a root in Hebrew is used to say " to be sated", a reasonable result of chewing and eating. The verb "hikkish" of this entry is a causative form of the basic verb, but does not have a causative meaning, unless regarding the acting person himself.

 

A more common, but really unconvincing theory sees our word "hikkish" as a causative form without causative message of the verb "nakhash", that means "to hit, strike" like its shorter sister "nakhà", but is said to mean also "to bite", though this meaning does not seem to exist for the basic form of this verb . It is then seen as related to two other verbs or roots. Te first one is "naqash = to knock, strike" but without any reference to "to bite". The other one is the considerably different "nashakh", that indeed in various Semitic languages stands for "to bite".

 

A semantic link between hitting and biting is not very convincing . Besides this, a root like "נ כ ש, N K SH " may well have been composed out of a prefix "N" and an older root "*K SH". We consider this way of shaping roots as rather frequent in Hebrew. So it is possible that there are two similar roots "N K SH" with separate origins, one saying " to hit, injure" and the other " to bite". But the fact remains that the meaning of "to bite" ascribed to this root, is seen only in our word "hikkish". We must prefer for now the hypothesis of the first paragraph , a basic root "* כ ו ש, K W SH"

 

 

Note:
  • Dutch. We have inserted the word "kies", because it participates in the action of the others and seems to have the same root. We are not at all convinced that the words without final " S " or " SH ", as "to chew", German "kauen" and Dutch "kauwen" are of the same origin.

 

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. A root ""* כ ו ש, K W SH" as well as a "נ ש ך, N SH K" , both with the message of "to bite" may have been present in Proto-Semitic as one finds this second root in various languages besides Hebrew : Akkadian, "nashaku " , in Ethiopian "nasaka", in Ugaritic "נ ט ך, N TH K". But then there is "N K T" in Aramaic "נ כ י ט, nekèt" and Syriac "נ כ ט, nekèt, nekat". Possibly more versions existed in Proto-Semitic, and it may be that the Hebrew and Aramaic version, with the K in the middle, is the older one, with the other being a metathesis. Our option is thus for Proto-Semitic "* כ ו ש, K W SH" , and perhaps also already "* נ כ ש, N K SH".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. An existing hypohesis for the verb is "*kūs-ian", that seems convincing. Thus Proto-Germanic presumably had a form "*K Ū S-".

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. On the basis of Russian and Dutch a form "*K Ū S-" or "*K Ō S-"seems possible.

     

    Old Indian" for "to chew, bite, eat" has "khādati" and a possible relation with this entry is hard to establish.

 

 

 

 
"...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: 02/11/2012 at 16.25.01