E 0224          CWEAD

The Old English word " cwead " is of Germanic origin .

H 0791             ט ו ק

Concept of root : disgusting

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ט ו ק

qoth

to be disgusted

Related English words

Old English cwead

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

     ט ו ק

qoth

to be disgusted

q (o) th

Russian

гадить

gaditj

to soil, foul, nauseate

g . d

Old English

cwead

filth

c w .. d

Middle Dutch

quaet

quaat

filth

q (u) . t

German

Kot

kot

filth

k (o) t

 

 

Hebrew *QOTH --- *KŎT- Proto-Germanic

 

 

This entry is related with entry GD 1057 (Hebrew 0793 , "qots"). One talks about disgust, the other also about a physical result of disgust. Meanwhile there is a second identical root with a quite different meaning, that of annoyance and dispute, mentioned in entry E 0225 (Hebrew 0792).

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. We lack information from other Semitic languages on which to base a hypothesis.

 

Note:
  • Germanic. The kinds of filth, considered under these words, are many different types, but they can always be considered from disgusting to very disgusting, except by swines and rhinos who love to roll in the mud. Middle High German had not yet quite made up its mind about how to spell and pronounce the word and we find : quat, chwat, kot and kat. There certainly has been a mix-up between the words for the concepts of "filth", in this entry, and that of "annoyance" in entry E 0225 (Hebrew 0792). Old English had two different words and spellings : cwead and cwed. In all probability Old High German "quat" and "chwat" also served each one of those meanings. But in Middle High German the mix-up was there. Modern German has maintained only the word "Kot" for "filth" of various kinds. The other concept, that of the entry E 0225 (Hebrew 0792) , is served by the word "böse".

     

    Modern Dutch instead has abandoned that word and maintained only the other one, spelled "kwaad". Thus no Modern Dutch word is mentioned in this entry and no Modern German one in E 0225 (Hebrew 0792).

     

    The Nordic languages do not use these roots.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. A very interesting aspect of this "dirty" word is that in older Germanic languages we find a phenomenon that is well-known in Hebrew : the alternating between a vowel "O" or "U" and a consonant "W" that gets support for pronunciation of a vowel, often "A". Thus an alternating between "O" and "WA" can be found. In fact one sees Middle (High) German as quoted in the previous note. Modern German has clearly chosen for the vowel "O" in "Kot", but Middle Dutch had "quaet" and Old English "cwēad". It is hard to define a Proto-Germanic form, but in this case there may have been both mentioned versions. In the comparison "*K ŎT- is mentioned.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. There is Russian "gaditj", a bit further away in sound, with "G D" instead of "K TH", be it instead nearer in meaning. But we find also here words with the similar root "G D", that cover meanings of entry E 0225 (Hebrew 0792). They are mentioned there. It is not sufficient to venture a hypothesis for Indo-European.

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 24/11/2012 at 16.31.59