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E 0807 SHIFT
The word " shift " is of
Germanic origin .
H 0897 ב כ ש
Concept of root : to rest and
lie down
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Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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ב כ ש
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shakhav
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to
rest, lie down
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Related English words
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shift
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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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ב כ ש
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shakhav
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to rest, lie down
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sh . kh . v
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Middle Dutch
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schoffen , schoften
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skhoffen
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skhoften
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to rest from work
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s kh . f ;
s kh . f (ty)
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Low German
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schuften
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shuften
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to work on
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sh . f (t)
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Dutch
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schaften
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skhaften
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rest from work
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s kh . f (t)
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English
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shift
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shift
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sh . f (t)
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Proto-Semitic *SHAKHAV --- *SKŎF-T- Proto-Germanic
The will to work hard and long, be it not on Shabbat, has always been and still is a characteristic of Jewish people. In this cultural climate the two concepts of "rest from work" and "lie down" tend to coincide much. That is seen in this ancient root.
The only difference in root lies in the sibilants. The initial SH in Hebrew may correspond with a German SCH ( pronounced SH ) or with a Dutch S or SCH.
The combination in Hebrew of the two consonants SH and KH is found in various other three-consonant roots that have meanings signalling the ending or interrupting of something. Examples are "
ש
כ
ח , shakhagh = to forget", "
ש
כ
ך , shakhakh = to reduce ", "
ש
כ
ל , shakhal = to loose one’s children ".
The explanation of the difference with the Germanic, and specifically Dutch root may be the following : "SH + KH" in fact is "SH + K". that comes probably from "S + K", very similar to Dutch.
Note:
- Middle Dutch. We see a development here that is important to understand the formation of many words in Germanic languages ! This is the introduction or adding of a final T without changing the message of a root. This is an extremely frequent phenomenon .
The interruption of work was used not just to sleep, but certainly also to eat, yet we should not see the basic meaning as one of "to eat between periods of working".
Note:
- German "schuften" seems to contradict Dutch, but it has a particular story. It is not very official language but just a popular word, that came to be used by students. It should have come from earlier popular language in central Germany (Thüringen) and may well have turned upside down the original meaning.
Note:
- English "shift" has two different messages, with two possibly different original roots. One is that of "to arrange, apportion, change" . This "to shift" has been preceded by Middle English "shiften" and Old Enflish "sciftan".
The other "to shift" is that of this entry, with its similarity with Hebrew. This , we excuse our wordplay, has "shifted" its meaning, from an interruption of work to a period of work. This kind of change should not surprise us too much, if we look at another example of the same kind of shift. The French word " étape" originally stood for places where travellers or troops halted for the night. It has shifted its meaning to the periods of travel inbetween those places, that often had warehouses for provisions. Anyone who follows the famous cycle race called Tour de France is familiar with this. This change of meaning is exactly what happened with the use of English "shift".
Note:
- Proto-Semitic. This root is present in Phoenician "ש כ ב , SH K B = to lie (down)". Aramaic and Syriac have "ש כ ב , shekhav = to lie (down)". Ugaritic uses the same root for the same meaning. With "S" instead of "SH" there is Ethiopian "sakaba = to lie". The Hebrew root probably was in use in Proto-Semitic "*ש כ ב , SH K B".
Note:
- Proto-Germanic. The information is limited. The vowel " Ĭ " in Old English may have been developed out of an older " Ŏ as found in Middle Dutch. In that case Proto-Germanic may have existed as "*SK Ŏ F(T)".
Note:
- Indo-European. Information about possible cognates in other groups of Indo-European languages is not available. The comparison stays as so very often, between Semitic and Germanic.
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| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 02/01/2013 at 14.34.48 |
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