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E 0430 HAVEN
The word " haven " is of
Germanic origin .
H 0467 ף ו
ח
Concept of root : end of land
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Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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ף ו ח
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ghoph
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coast,
bank
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Related English words
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haven ,
Old English: hæfen (sea)
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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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ף ו ח
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ghoph
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coast, bank
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gh . ph
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Old English
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hæfen
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sea, port
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h . f
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English
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haven
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haven
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h . v
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Middle
Dutch
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haf ;
haven
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haf;
haven
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sea ;
port
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h . f;
h . v
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Old Low German
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haff;
hafen
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haf;
hafen
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sea;
port
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h . f
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Middle High German
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hap
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hap
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port, sea
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h . p
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Danish
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hav;
havn
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hav;
havn
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sea;
port
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h . v
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Dutch
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haf
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haf
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lagoon
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h . f
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Proto-Semitic *GHOP(H) --- *HĂF- Proto-Germanic
In this entry we find a particular case of old divergence or of a drifting in Middle Dutch, regarding the choice between two aspects of a concept. The concept is that of "the land ends" and "the water begins" or viceversa. There we find the "coast" and begins the "sea".
In Germanic "hafa" was the sea, as "haf" was in older Low German and Middle Dutch and "hav" still is in the Nordic languages. We are not sure if it meant only sea and not also some parts of the sea, like a lagoon. But the theory is that the Dutch invented the use of the existing word "haf" that they had as well, for a "sea-lake" or lagoon.
The second basic point is the word "haven", clearly an extension of the root "H V" that stood and still stands for sea. It is a very Germanic way of forming of a new word with a connected meaning. A seaport is a modern construction, but a "haven" could be very natural place, just like a lagoon, where one can anchor safely and protected from the anger of the waves.
A place like a lagoon as well as a natural "port" are things that come near the concept of coast and bank where they are found.
Consequently we do not see much in the theory that "haven" would have to do with Latin "capio" as "place where ships are taken". Nor in the reasoning that the word "hafa" for sea would be linked to "to heave", from a root saying "to lift", because people saw the sea as the High Sea, and would more or less have to climb to get on top of it. After all this we can see that a common origin between Germanic and Hebrew is once more there.
Note:
- Proto-Semitic We find a proposed root "*GH P", with the suggestion that the pronunciation would have with a vowel "A" and a doubling of the consonant "P" : "*ghapp-". This seems to be based on Arabic "ghafa" or "ghaffa" for "edge". But Arabic also has the word "ghauf = edge, brim, rim, border", and here we see the U, derived from Waw, that is also present in Hebrew. So the probable root in Proto-Semitic becomes "*ח ו ף , GH W P ".
The pronunciation of the closing consonant from " P " into " PH " has found its way into Hebrew and also into Arabic with a word very similar to Germanic: "ghāf(f)a = edge". But then we find with the same meaning Ethiopian "ghapu". Also Ugaritic uses the unchanged " P " . The question mark is if the change of pronunciation into " PH = F " may have started in Proto-Semitic that anyhow had the " P ". This remains uncertain, but if this change came later, we are as so many times in the presence of a greater similarity between Germanic and Hebrew than with other related languages in one of both groups or in both groups.
Note:
- Proto-Germanic All words begin with a consonant "H", that according to many scholars is a development out of a "GH"-sound. The following consonant is a short "A", except when a second syllable is added that makes the "A" become long, "Ā". The second consonant is mostly a "V" or an "F". Older languages like Old English, Old Norse as well as German and its predecessors have "F", that may indicate an original "P". Such a "P" is indeed found in Middle High German "hap". Newer languages often have changed from "F" to "V", as in Scandinavian "hav" and English and Dutch "haven". Probably Proto-Germanic had "*H A F-", with an older form "*H A P-" still present.
Note:
- Indo-European There is not enough information for a hypothesis different from Proto-Germanic. Russian "гавань, gawanj = harbour" is a loanword from Dutch. The Irish word "cuan = harbour" with an initial "C" that corresponds with the Germanic "H", also shows a vowel "U" that may correspond with the Semitic "O" in "ghoph, while the "P" has disappeared in a not uncommon development.
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| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 24/01/2013 at 16.46.47 |
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