E 0069         (TO)  BARK

The verb " to bark " is of Germanic origin .

H 0630            ח ב נ

Concept of root : to bark

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ח ב נ

nawagh < *bagh

to bark

Related English words

to bark

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ח ב נآ

nawagh <

bagh

to bark

n . b . gh <

* b (a) gh

Greek

βαυζω

baüzo

to bark

b (a) (

Latin

baubari

baubari

to bark

b (a) (ü)

English

to bark

to bark

b (a) rk

Middle English

baffen;

berken

to bark

b (a) f;

b (e) rk

Middle Dutch

baffen

beffen

baffen

beffen

to bark

b (a) f

b (e) f

 

 

Proto-Semitic *NABAGH < *BAGH --- *BA++ Indo-European

 

 

There is a tendency to consider this kind of words as "sound-imitating", but this is only part of the truth, because in different languages that same sound dogs make when barking, is described by very different verbs. We elaborate briefly.

 

Classic Greek and Latin are near each other as seen above, but Modern Greek "γαυγιζω , ghawyizo" is quite different and it seems people don’t care about etymology. Among Neo-Latin languages we see "abayer (French)", "ladrar (Spanish)" and "abbaiare" o se il cane è più insistente "latrare" (Italian)".

 

The mentioned Italian word "abbaiare" is said to have been built on Latin "baubari", but that does not fit at all. Italians, when they imitate the sound of barking, say "bau-bau" and that is yes like Latin and also the same as the Greeks used as an imitating sound for barking : "βαυ βαυ , baü baü. In Germanic we find quite a variety, like Swedish "skälla" and "gläfsa", Norwegian "glø", "bjeffe" and "halse" , Danish "gø", German "bellen" and Dutch "blaffen", but with the imitative sound "waf".

 

Russians make it "лаять , layatj" and Poles "szczekać". This enormous variety in defining the sound of dogs barking demonstrates that if two languages are near, this may be considered as a indication of them being related to each other.

 

 

Note:
  • Greek has also the Dorian form "γαυσδω , gaüsdo " for "to bark".

 

Note:
  • Latin in "baubari" has doubled the initial B.

 

Note:
  • Hebrew has added a final GH-sound to the BA-sound it shares with Greek and Latin. Perhaps in Israel dogs were barking more hoarsely ?

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. This root is found as well in Aramaic and Syriac " נ ב ח , newagh = to bark". Arabic nabagha and Ethiopian nabagha say "it barked" and Akkadian "nabaghu = to bark" . This root was probably used in Proto-Semitic . "* נ ב ח , N B GH".

     

    The consonant " B " certainly had the original pronunciation, as seen In Ethiopian and Arabic as well as in several Hebrew forms.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. English "to bark" at least has the initial sound BA that is found in the Mediterranean tongues But especially interesting is the final K, that brings it nearer to Hebrew with its GH. As shown Middle English had two words and roots. Probably the one with FF had been loaned from Middle Dutch. That language is about the nearest to Greek and Latin. But we will not hazard a hypothesis for Proto-Germanic.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. A common element in many languages is the initial sound "*BA-", that is then followed by various additions, like "-RK" in English. We mention this in our comparison.

 

 

 
"...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: Thursday 7 February 2013 at 15.59.49