E 0177          CLENI

The Old Saxon word " cleni " is of Germanic origin .

H 0757         ל ל ק

Concept of root : small, insignificant

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ל ל ק

qalal

to be small, insignificant

Related English words

Old Saxon : cleni

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ל ל ק

qalal

to be or become small,

insignificant

q . l . l <

* q . l

Old Saxon

cleni

small, little

c l . n

Middle Dutch

klein

klein

small, little

insignificant

k l . n

German

klein

klayn

small, little

k l . n

 

 

Proto-Semitic *QALAL < *QAL --- *KLĒN Proto-Germanic

 

 

This root bears two concepts that are easily linked together: being small and being insignificant. Certainly small things can be very significant, but often in human thinking smallness and limited importance go together.

 

Here we find this clearly expressed in Hebrew and Middle Dutch. Already in modern Dutch the root has concentrated strongly on the aspect "small, little" , though the figurative meaning we see in English "to belittle" lives on a bit.

 

The difference remains that we find a third consonant N in German "K L N", whereas Hebrew has preferred to double the L into "K L L".

 

Note:
  • Hebrew The hypothesis of an older root "* Q . L" is reinforced by the existence of another word in Hebrew, " qal = light ". One must note that the verb " qalal " has a cousin "qalà", that does not carry the first meaning " to be little ", but that is nearer the second meaning, developed out of the first : "be lightly esteemed, disgraced". Both developed out of the earlier "*Q : L".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. We find a supposed root, identical to the Hebrew one, but this is not too probable. Some Semitic languages, as Syriac, Soqotri and Harsusi, do not have the third consonant "L". This means that they have not doubled the second consonant "L" of an original root " *Q L ". That root must have been present in Proto-Semitic with the concept of "to be(come) small", as "*ק ל , Q L" . Perhaps also the lengthened three consonant ק ל ל , Q L L" had already been shaped, but then it remains difficult to say which of the various meanings were at that time expressed by it.

 

Note:
  • English and Germanic express with a similar root the meaning we find in "clean" .This word comes from Old English "clæne" that has a sisterword in Old High German "chleini" . Some scholars link these words together with German and Dutch "klein = small", but the two concepts are very distant and do not belong together. Neither can one suppose that the idea "clean" in some way leads to that of "small", nor the other way about.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. In older languages we see with the meaning "small, little" as in Old Saxon "kleni, cleni", Old Frisian "klēne", Old High German "chleini" ( that also says clean, fine"). Middle Dutch had both "cleen" and "cleine" and it is possible that they were originally distinguished in meaning . The verb "cleinen" says only "to make small, reduce", and also the noun "cleine" regards "the little, the small", but the adjective "cleine" serves also the category "clean". Anyhow with the meaning of littleness Proto-Germanic probably had a form "*KL Ē N-".

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. We have limited indications towards possible cognates in other Indo-European groups of languages. The Greek word "γληνος, glènos" is related to for example Old High German "kleine", that carries three different meanings . These are : 1. clean; 2. brilliant; 3. little. The second and third meanings in Hebrew are expressed by "QALAL < QAL". Greek "glènos" serves just the second one, "brilliant", but also says "eye, pupil" and "light, star", clearly all around the concept of "brillance". The question is if these various meanings in Hebrew, Germanic and Greek are expressed by similar but independent roots, seen the considerable distance between them. In that case there is no similarity for all three with Greek.

     

    As things stand it is careful to limit the comparison to Germanic and Semitic with the meanings of "small, little".

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 22/11/2012 at 9.54.52