E 0732          ROAD(STEAD)

The word " road " is of Germanic origin .

H 0809         ד ד ר

Concept of root : low water

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ד ד ר

reded

shallows

Related English words

road(stead), Old English rād

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

      ד ד ר

reded

shallow-ness

r . d . d <

* r . d

Old English

rād

roadstead

r . d

English

road , roadstead

road, roadstead

r . d

Italian

rada

rada

roadstead

r . d

Dutch

rede

réde

roadstead

r . d

 

 

Hebrew REDED < Proto-Semitic *RAD --- *RĒD- Proto-Germanic

 

 

Shallow waters in front of the coast are good places for a roadstead. The meaning "was made shallow" for the passive verbal form "ruddad", found in Post Biblical Hebrew, is the basis for Modern Hebrew "reded". That is what links the two roots. Obviously navigation in Biblical times did not have the same necessities of today, but relatively shallow waters were right for anchoring once that became necessary.

 

There is a widespread opinion that the European words of this entry are related to a group that counts also English "to ready". But roadsteads simply are not places where ships are readied, on the contrary.

 

Note:
  • Greek has a word "ραδιος , radios" or "ρηδιος , rèdios" that means easy, also specifically in the sense of "easily accessible", but we have not inserted this in the above table, because it also talks about other forms of things or actions being easy, for example comfortable shoes.

 

Note:
  • Hebrew uses a root "R D D" also for other messages, such as "to squeeze", "to tread on" and "to flatten" and "to go on, move along, drive" . See entry E 0731 (Hebrew 0808) .

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. The root of this entry is identical to and probably the same as the one found in entry E 0731 (Hebrew 0808) . The roots of that entry, with one or two D's, and in the specific sense we referred to, are seen in Aramaic, Syriac, Arabic and Akkadian. The shorter one was probably in use in Proto-Semitic, the lengthened one possibly already as well: "*ר ד, R D" and "*ר ד ד , R D D". Meanwhile it is interesting to see how in Hebrew and Indo European comparable specializing developments have taken place .

 

Note:
  • English has not maintained the Old English word "rad", creating the composed word "roadstead". This newer word has nothing to do with the modern concept of "road", but probably refers to the movement of ships when they are riding at anchor. Thus it is an older form of the verb "to ride" , in which different vowels, especially the " I " instead of " O ", came to be used. See entry E 731 (Hebrew 0808). The second part of the word " roadstead ", that is "stead" means " place ".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. Besides the abovementioned words we find Norwegian "red" with Old Norse "redr". Modern German "Reede" is considered a loanword from Dutch, but Middle Low German had "rēde, reide" and Swedish has "redd". Probably Proto-Germanic had "*R Ē D-".

 

Note:
  • Italian, and with it other Neo-Latin languages, are considered to have loaned the word "rada" and its sisters from Old English "rad". Old English is the culprit because it has a vowel A of course. But where and when would the contacts have taken place ? And why has the Old English word been abolished for "roadstead" ?

     

    Italian "rada" and French "rade" may well be of Germanic origin, like Danish "rad", but hardly via Old English.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. Indications lack about possible cognates in other groups of Indo-European languages. The comparison stays between Semitic and Germanic, which is quite a common phenomenon.

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 26/11/2012 at 10.40.05