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E 0140 CALM
The word " calm " is of
unknown origin .
H 0426 ם ל ח
Concept of root : inner peace
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Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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ם ל ח
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ghalam
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to
dream
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Related English words
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calm
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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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ם ל ח
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ghalam
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to dream
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gh . l . m
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Italian
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calma
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calma
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calm
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c . l m
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English
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calm
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calm
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c . l m
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Proto-Semitic *GHALAM --- *CALM- Late Latin
The word "calm" is known in Italian, other neo-Latin languages, English and others. And indeed in vulgate Latin. No success has been obtained in the search for an etymology. A rather accepted theory is that Italian "calma" is a mixture of Greek "kauma" and Latin "calere". As we see, one has the "M "and the other has the "L". And "calma " has both.
These two classic words indicate burning and therefore the great heat in the calm hours of Greek midday’s would have originated this word. Quite some phantasy ! Further there is the weak point that the word "calma" existed neither in Greek nor in classic Latin.
Others say it is a seaman’s word from French "calme" for the situation of "no wind" and no sailing. Why this would come from French , the least productive in seafaring terms ? And then where would the French word come from ?
We know that the modern word "calm" has both litteral and figurative and also both physical and mental meaning. If the mental meaning is original, the nearness to Hebrew may be there.
There is another aspect that may help. In Hebrew this root "GH L M" has two messages. One is that of dreaming, the other one that of getting strong or strong again. These two meanings may very well be totally independent from each other . But, as the Italian saying goes : "Calma è la virtù dei forti" or "Calmness is the virtue of the strong". There the two concepts have been combined.
Uncertainty is bound to reign.
Note:
- Proto-Germanic. "KALM-", is found in Late Latin, as well as in French and a couple of Germanic tongues. If it was found in more of these, a Germanic origin would be probable. But we have just English and Dutch, so that such an origin remains just a possibility with a relatively narrow basis.
Note:
- Proto-Semitic. There are some meanings in the languages derived from Proto-Semitic that give already some limited support to our supposition of common origin in this entry. In Ugaritic the meaning of this root is still " to sleep", certainly a way of being "calm". So in Judaic Aramaic with " to sleep well". Some see a second meaning of this root in " to have wet dreams", but that is rather far fetched. Arabic and Ethiopian both have "ghalama = he dreamed", with the nouns "ghulm" in Arabic and "ghelem" in Ethiopian. Such a message is expressed by added elements, like a T or doubling, as seen clearly in distinct meanings in Mehri and Jibbali. Finally Aramaic and Syriac had in a common development in comparison with Hebrew "ח ל מ א , ghelem'à = he dreamed". Proto-Semitic probably had already the same root found in Hebrew "*ח ל ם , GH L M".
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| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 26/10/2012 at 15.59.53 |
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