GD 1066          MUIL, SMOEL

H 0616            ל ו מ

Concept of root : facing

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ל ו מ

mul, mol

in front of, facing

Related English words

none

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ל ו מ

mul, mol

in front of, facing

m (u) l

m (o) l

Dutch

muil, smoel

muil,

 smul

mouth, face

m (u) l

m (o) l

Middle Dutch

muul, mule ;

smule

mül, müle;

 smüle

mouth, face;

face, head

m (u) l

sm (u) l

Dutch

muil, smoel

muil,

 smul

mouth, face

m (u) l

m (o) l

German

Maul

maul

mouth

 

 

Hebrew *MUL --- *MŪL- Proto-Germanic

 

 

 

The analysis of this entry is helped by mentioning Hebrew " מ ו ל פ נ י מ , mul panim = front part of the face" and " מ מ ו ל , mimul = opposite, facing". We add that the word "panim" says "face" as well. In "mul panim" there is a kind of double expression or tautology.

 

 

Note:
  • Dutch. Both words have the meaning of mouth as well as face. But "muil" is more used for "mouth" be it mostly in a degrading sense or for dangerous wild animals. Also "smoel" is not a compliment, except in its diminutive when it can be very flattering. Anyhow it is used for "face". Both words have diphthongs that are later developments of the basic vowels O and U. In the transcription "OE" is similar to Latin "U", but "UI" is not found in other languages, though it comes near French "EU" in "feuille". It is very different from French "EU" in"jeu", that sounds like Dutch "EU" .

     

    German "Maul" is comparable in usage to Dutch "muil".

 

Note:
  • Hebrew. The hypothesis that the word "mul" would be a contraction of a non-existing "*M.Aleph.W.L" that then would have been constructed with a localizing prefix "M" on the basis of an old root "Alpeh.W.L", regretfully does not have any solid basis . When we see a word beginning with "M", that also is a very frequent prefix in Hebrew, there is always the risk that we seek too desperately for some root to link it to. Looking into basic meanings of such candidate roots is a safety valve.
    That last root , without too much certainty, stood for "to be strong" and/or "to be foolish". These two concepts, with also that of "fatness" are then seen as related. With more certainty we know that it meant "body" or "health" . See our entry E 0433 (Hebrew 0422) . But all this has no bearing on "being in front of".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. We have no evidence from other Semitic languages for a hypothesis.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. The combination "M U L-" with following "E" (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish "mule"), "I"(Old Norse "muli") or "A" (Old High German and Old Frisian "mula"), but also "JA" (Gothic*-muljian") is found in many Germanic languages and was probably present in Proto-Germanic: "*M Ū L -".

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. We have no information on which to base a hypothesis for Indo-European different from Proto-Germanic. Old Indian has a word "mukha = face, snout, mouth" and this has prompted a hypothesis of "*M Ū- ", without " L ", for Indo-European, but we hesitate to accept this conclusion also because the "L" is already found in Hebrew.

 

 

 
"...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: 10/11/2012 at 10.00.31