E 0670          PAUSE

The word " pause " is, via Old French and Latin, of Greek origin .

H 0653            ש פ נ

Concept of root : to interrupt activity

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ש פ נ

naphash;

nippash

to breathe;

to take a breath, rest, pause

Related English words

pause, from Latin

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ש פ נ

naphash;

nippash

-

-

to breathe

to take a breath, rest, pause

n . p . sh

< p . (o) sh

Greek

παυω

παυσα

pauwo ;

pausa

to (make) stop, rest, pause ;

cessation, suspension

p . uw <

*p.  w s ;

p. (u)s

Latin

pausare

pausare

to rest, pause

p . s

Middle Dutch

poos;

-

posen;

(ver)posen

-

poos,

-

pozen;

verpozen

-

period of time;

to rest;

to pass time, rest

p . (o) s

 

 

Hebrew *NAP(H)ASH < Proto-Semitic POSH --- *PAWS- Indo-European

 

 

Once more the initial N of a root of three consonants in Hebrew is to be seen as a prefix, placed in front of an existing root of two-consonants, here "P SH", that already had the same basic meaning. In this case further confirmations, besides the similarity with European languages, come from the verb " פ ס ס , pasas ", that says "to stop ( an activity)" and from " פ ו ש , posh " for "to rest" . See entries E 0671 (Hebrew 0730) and E 0672 (Hebrew 0744).

 

The Greek and Latin word "pausa" has found its way into numerous modern languages.

 

 

Note:
  • Greek scholars are uncertain about the etymology of this verb.

 

Note:
  • Greek and Hebrew. The final SH (or S) of Hebrew is not present in the Greek verb, , except in various flexions. But in the noun "παυσα , pausa = cessation, suspension" and as it seems in nearly all other words that hardly could have been shaped all after those flexions, we find the S. We suppose therefore that there has been a root with S also in Greek.

 

Note:
  • Latin "pausare" is seen based on the noun "pausa" that would come from Greek "pausis". It has found its way into many modern European languages.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. The root of this entry, " נ פ ש , N . P . SH", is used to say "to blow, breathe", but also in the sense of "to rest, pause". It is considered to be one root for both meanings, but we are far from certain that this is right. True, also in European languages "to take a breath" is used to express "he paused ( in his activity, work)". On the other hand the noun "nephesh" with the same root in Hebrew does not have the meaning of "rest", but a great number of messages that are related to "breath": "windpipe, breath, soul, person, life, people, feeling, wish, deceased". Other Semitic languages show comparable pictures. Important is the verbal form In Exodus 31 . 17: "י נ פ ש , yenaphash he rested", referring to the Lord during the seventh day, after the work of the Creation that had lasted six days.

     

    The verb "naphash" in other Semitic languages refers to breathing, adding further secondary or figurative meanings to the original one. Proto-Semitic in the sense of "breathing" and a number of secondary or figurative messages probably had "* נ פ ש , N P SH". It is probable that the meaning of "to rest, pause" existed in Proto-Semitic. It would be surprising if only Hebrew had this combination of root and meaning. Another guess is that there are two identical verbs, one of which with just the meaning of "to rest". It is uncertain if a change in pronunciation of the consonant " P " into " PH = F " has begun in that language.

     

    Remains the odd thing that Hebrew shows a similarity with Indo-European in which there is no indication from other Semitic languages. Regarding the sense of "to rest", there is a clear indication that the initial " N " is a prefix: Hebrew "posh" is an old form that already carries this meaning and it was probably in use in Proto-Semitic : "*פ ו ש , posh "

 

Note:
  • Middle Dutch according to many scholars comes from older French "pose", that would be a transcription from the as such pronounced Late Latin word "pausa". But this would not explain why the basic meaning of the noun "poos" is so different from that of "pause". Another point is that Old French "pose" already had the meaning of English "pose" and was related to the Latin verb "pono = to place" with the flexions "posui" and "positum".

     

    It is useful to have a look into the meanings of Middle Dutch "pose". Just as in fact modern Dutch "poos" the main messages it carries is 1. "a length of time". This has not been derived from Latin "pausa". Further meanings are : 2. "a defined moment or hour" ; 3. period of rest, intermediate period; 4. time ( one, two times); 5. journey. It seems rather obvious that the meanings under number 3. regarding "rest", have been derived from the original one ( period of time) and that they either have no relation with Latin "pausa" or that the Latin and French words have influenced the derivation. Remains a Dutch and Low German word "pose" of which the origin is unclear.

     

    Confusion can occur easily when one finds two roots that are not far off in sound and have messages that can be in practical harmony with each other. In Latin "posui = I place" and "I interrupt and stand" ; "pono, posui" was even used to say "to stop, finish" and "to lay down one’s arms". One even may wonder if this as such confirms a direct similarity with Hebrew, but the evidence is not strong enough to warrant an entry in our list.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. If Dutch "rustpoos" in the sense of "period of rest" is not of Germanic origin, there is no space for any hypothesis for Proto-Germanic, other than for the meaning of "period of time", that may have been "P Ō S-, but does not regard this entry.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. The available information, bsides Germanic, is mostly limited to Greek and Latin, without indications about the etymology of their relative words. In Greek a quantity of related words confirms that the consonant " S " is part of the root. Thus the root is "*P (A)W S-", with the vowel "A" essential for good pronuncition. The Indo-European form probably was "*P AW S-".

 

 

 

 
"...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 15.56.41