|
E 0838 (TO) SLUMBER
The verb " to slumber " is of
Germanic origin .
H 0910 ם ל
ש
Concept of root : peaceful
existence
|
Hebrew word
|
pronunciation
|
English meanings
|
|
ם ל ש
|
shalam
|
to be
at peace, to be well
|
|
|
|
Related English words
|
to
slumber
|
|
|
Comparison between European words and
Hebrew
|
Languages
|
Words
|
Pronunciation
|
English meanings
|
Similarity in roots
|
|
Hebrew
|
ם ל ש
|
shalam
|
to be at peace, to be well
|
sh . l . m
|
|
Old English
|
slūma
|
|
sleep
|
s l . m
|
|
English
|
slumber
|
|
slumber
|
s l . mb
|
|
Dutch
|
sloom ;
-
-
sluimeren
|
sloom
;
-
-
sl(ui)meren
|
inactive, calm in moving ;
to doze
|
s l . m
|
|
Middle Dutch
|
slumen ;
slumeren
-
|
slümen;
slümeren
-
|
to doze;
to rest in calm
|
s l . m
|
|
Middle Low German
|
slomern ;
slommen
-
|
slomern
;
slommen
-
|
to doze ;
to rest in calm
|
s l . m
|
Proto-Semitic *SHALAM --- *SLŌM Proto-Germanic
The interface is rather narrow. The root "SH L M" has lived important developments, but what we find in the various Germanic languages, such as English, Low German and Dutch is both somewhat specialized and with that more limited. Yet the similarity , lying in the situation of calm in which one is not obliged to move on account of outside or inward pressures, is very clear.
Note:
- Hebrew . The most important word in Hebrew has become "
ש
ל
ו
ם , shalom" a participle of "shalam" that says "peace". In Biblical language it had a range of messages : "wellfare, growth, benevolence, peace, health, being unharmed". All qualities that can be in harmony or acquired thanks to a situation of calm and peace, of non-violence.
Note:
- Proto-Semitic. If we compare the Hebrew root with other Semitic languages, we see that most also have "SH L M", but that Arabic has " S L M". This has left scholars uncertain and there are two hypothetical roots for Proto-Semitic, "*SH L M" and "*S L M". We might note that "* S L M " may have been present in Proto-Semitic, as also the Indo European words of this entry show us "S L M ". But on the other hand we see a frequent shifting between the two forms "SH" and "S" as well as "TS", also in the pronunciation of modern European languages. So we stick to the majority for a Proto-Semitic "*ש ל ם , SH L M".
Note:
- Proto-Germanic. In Dutch the meaning of "sloom" has acquired that of individual inactivity, calmness in moving. No etymology is known, nor have we seen sisterwords in other tongues. This reinforces the idea of a common origin with the near-identical Hebrew root.
Our supposition goes as follows. The factual basis is that some of the verbs that mean "to doze" have an extra " R " and sometimes also an extra syllable , such as English "to slumber", Middle Dutch "slumeren" and Middle Low German "slomern " . These verbs are intensive forms of the basic verbs like "slumen" and "slommen" . That means that "to doze" is an intensive form of what those shorter verbs with the root "S L M" originally stood for. That must have been that situation of peace and rest that allows one to slumber in safety. Proto-Germanic probably had a form "*SL Ō M-".
Note:
- English and Nordic. Words like "slow" in English , "slĝ " in Swedish and "slĝv " in Norwegian should not be mixed with Dutch "sloom".
Note:
- Indo-European. Other branches of Indo-European do not offer information of cognates. The comparison stays between Semitic and Germanic, which is a very frequent phenomenon.
|
|
|
| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: Thursday 7 February 2013 at 16.11.24 |
|