E 0650           OVEN

The word " oven " is of Germanic origin .

H 0566            ה פ א מ

Concept of root : cookie

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ה פ א מ

me’aphà

cookie, cake

Related English words

oven

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ה פ א מ

mé’aphà

cookie, cake

(.) ph .

Latin

offa

offa

cookie, cake

(.) f .

English

oven

oven

(.) v

 

 

Proto-Semitic *APHÀ, OPHÉ --- *ŌPN- Indo-European

 

 

The similarity is clear . The M in this Hebrew word is just a prefix that indicates a "from where" . This "from where" is in fact "from cooking in the oven".
Consequently this entry is strictly linked to number E 0648 (Hebrew 0048), with the verb " aphà ", that stands for "to cook".

 

Note:
  • Latin. No etymology has been found for "offa". Diminutives are found in "ofella", "offella", "offla" and "offula" . An "offa" is basically small and nice to eat, and it has led to the word "offatim" for "bit by bit".

 

Note:
  • Hebrew. Hebrew very frequently shapes nouns with a prefix M- , pronounced "ma- ", "mi-" or as in this case "mé-" . This prefix stands in front of a term based on an existing root. Here the verb is " aphà = to cook ", related to English " oven " that is the place where cooking is done. A cookie thus has become " the thing that has been cooked ".

     

    One can find interesting words that have been built according to this system. We recall that an important way of preparing food, as was done by Abraham when the Angels came to announce that Sarà would have a child , was that of taking a lamb and preparing it . Thus the name of a kitchen in Hebrew had become : " mithbagh ", or " the place where is slaughtered " !

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. The basic root "Aleph . P . " is seen in many Semitic languages and Proto-Semitic may well have been similar to Hebrew : "* א ף, Aleph P".

     

    The pronunciation of the consonant " P " as " PH = F " is found in the North West, in Hebrew and Aramaic, be it as usual only in part of the forms. Also Arabic "mĪ = oven" and Ethiopian "mōfet = oven" have the newer pronunciation " F ". But in Akkadian there still is the " P " : "epū = to bake". The change from " P " into " PH " may have begun during Proto-Semitic.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. The English word "oven" has " identical" sister words in Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Dutch, Middle Low German an Middle High German. Very similar are Old High German "ovan" , Old English "ofen" and German "Ofen" as well as Danish "ovn" that no more uses the mute "E", as Old Norse and Old Swedish do in "ofn". Possibly the opening vowel, a long "O" has led in several languages to a voicing of the following consonant, that was "F" and became "V". Presumably Proto-Germanic had "*O F e N-".

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. Regarding the words of this entry we refer to entry E 0648 (Hebrew 0048), of which we repeat the result in the comparison above.

     

    For the concept of "oven we refer to the Note in entry E 0649 (Hebrew 0208) : Old Indian has "agni-gh = fire". Hittite has "agnish = fire". Russian presents " о г о н ь, ogonj = fire", after Old Church Slavonic "ognj". Baltic sees Lithuanian"ugnìs" and Latvian "uguns".

     

    Indo European for "fire" probably had an initial vowel, followed by "GN". The vowel is uncertain, but if one considers the possible development of " I " as well as " U " out of an earlier " O ", Indo-European may have been "*O GN-" for the concept of "fire". This again may have been used more specifically to indicate fire as made, controlled and used by people.

     

    For the concept of "oven" Indo-European probably had a form near to Proto-Germanic, as we find also Greek with a similar root in "ιπνος, ipnos = oven". This seen as coming from an older "*wipnos", that may have had a predecessor "*opn-os". The most probable Indo-European form is then "*O P N-".

 

 

 
"...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: 25/01/2013 at 17.53.23