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E 0692 PLOUGH, PLOW, (TO) SPLIT
The sisterwords " plough" and "plow" are of Germanic origin.
The verb " to split " is, via Middle Dutch, of Germanic origin .
H 0692 ח
ל
פ
Concept of root : splitting
Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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ח ל פ
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palagh;
pillagh
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to
plow; to furrow;
to split
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Related English words
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plough , to split
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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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ח ל פ
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palagh;
pillagh
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to plow; to furrow;
to split
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p . l . gh
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English
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to plough,
to plow ;
to split
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to plough,
to plow ; split
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p l . gh ;
p l . w ;
sp . l . t
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Dutch
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ploeg ,
ploegen ; splijten, splitten;
splitsen
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plugh ,
plughen ; spleiten, splitten;
splitsen
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plow;
to plow, split, cleave;
to split up, divide
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p l . gh ;
sp . l . t;
sp . l .ts
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German
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Pflug ,
pflügen ; spleissen
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Pflug ,
pflügen ; shpleissen
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plough,
to plough ; cleave, split
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pf l . g :
shp . l . s
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Proto-Semitic *PALEGH --- *PLŪGH-" Indo-European
Two are the similarities of this entry, with one Hebrew root. The basic form of this root "palagh" or perhaps " palegh " has the meaning of " to plough " that has the same consonants.
Looking further at the vowels in these words we see that the intense form in Hebrew, "pillègh" shares meaning and the vowel " I " with English "to split". The differences are then two, that are rather characteristic for Germanic language development: using a prefix S and a suffix T , without fundamentally changing the meaning of the root that has these added. Thus "P L" becomes SP LT".
Hebrew instead , that also has in the basic brief root of two consonants "P L" a meaning of "division, separation, splitting" , has diversified by adding third consonants. In this case a GH to indicate a clear action of dividing by the use of material strength.
 
Note:
- Proto-Semitic. Some scholars see here a root "*P . L. Aleph", that would carry the meaning of "to split", but also of " to be sharp". There can be little doubt that there was an original two-consonant root "*P . L" with the meaning of "to divide, split, break". But there was certainly need to diversify, the need that brings the development of three-consonant roots, in this case by adding third consonants. In Hebrew we see "P.L.Aleph = to distinguish", "P.L.G = to divide, split, cleave", P.L.GH = to plow, split , cleave", "P.L.Y = to be separated", P.L.SH = to penetrate, invade".
The probability that these developments had already taken place in Proto-Semitic is convalidated by the similarity with the Indo European words of this entry. Thus for this entry we have to stick to Proto-Semitic "* פ ל ח , P L GH ".
 
This root is anyhow seen in Aramaic and Syriac " פ ל ג , pelagh = he plowed, cleft, cultivated". Arabic with the common change to an initial "PH = F" has " falagha = he cleft".
Note:
- Germanic. One notes how the added final consonant , or suffix, varies from T to TS to S or SS in Germanic languages. In the cases of Dutch there is also a diversification in message between "splijTen" and "spliTSen"and the intensive form "spliTTen" that also has led to "spliTSen". The same basis has also given nasalized versions, such as English "splinter".
Note:
- Proto-Germanic. "SP L I T-" is found in most languages, but it had a competitor in "spalten", found in German and its predecessors Old and Middle High German, while Low German has "SPLĪTEN" and "SPLITTEN". Middle Dutch had , as so often, many versions: spalden, spolden, spouden, spouwen" besides "splīten, splitten, spletten, splitsen, splissen" , the verbal forms "spleet, gespleten" and the nouns "splete, splette, spleet = cleft, crevice, fissure, slit". The "U" after "O" in some Dutch words is a development out of "L".
It is probable that Proto-Germanic had both "*SP L I T-" and in some words "*SP L E T-" and "*SP A L T-".
Besides this Proto-Germanic probably had a form "*PL Ō G-" with the meaning of "plow" and "to plow". Older languages give the necessary information. Old Norse had "plōg;r", Old Frisian "plōg", Old High German "pfluog", Middle Low German "plō, plūg" and Middle Dutch "plouch, ploech".
Note:
- Indo-European. The current opinion relays these words to an hypothetical root "*bhei" for "to beat". We think that the people that spoke Indo-European 10 or 12.000 years ago, necessarily made a nett difference between actions of beating and actions of splitting. Distinguishing between these various things they did was very essential in their daily life .
Outside Germanic the information is limited. Clearly related is Old Indian:
Old Indian "phalati = to cleave", "pathati = to split open" and "phāla = ploughshare"
Slavic has a hypothesis for "half", that may be related, in "*polj", that is recognizable in Russian "половина, polowìna = half". There are sisterwords in other languages.
Indo European may have had a form "*P A L-" or "*P O L-" for "to split, cleave". It is quite possible that for "to plow", as plowing was already practised, an extended form "*P L . GH-", with the use of a vowel " A " or " U ", had been developed. In our comparison we propose "*P L Ū GH-"
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Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 29/12/2012 at 10.01.23 |
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