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E 0859 SPINE
The word " spine " is, via
Old French, of Latin origin .
H 0929 ה פ ש
Concept of root : protruding visibly
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Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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ה פ ש
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shaphà
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to
protrude, stick out
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Related English words
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spine ,
from Latin
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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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ה פ ש
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shaphà
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to protrude, stick out
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sh . ph .
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Indo European
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* spei
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to be pointed
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s p .
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Latin
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spina
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spina
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spine
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s p . n
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English
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spine (spinal column)
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spine
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s p . n
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Hebrew *SHAP(H)À --- *SPI-N-A Latin < *SPEI- Indo-European
The problem of identical or seemingly identical roots with different meanings exists in all languages, and so it does in Hebrew. Here we find a root that is seen in a phrase in Job 33.21 : "and his flesh is consumed … his bones protrude visibly". This root is different from that of entry E 0800 (Hebrew 0928), about scraping and levigating.
It comes somewhat nearer to entry E 0860 (Hebrew 0927) , with "to pierce". It may be the basis of the diversification that has led to "shaphad, shippèd = to pierce". This diversification has then been realized by adding the dental D as a third consonant, from " SN PH " to " SH PH D" .
This time we venture with an Indo-European, and thus hypothetical root, " *S P . ", where the point stands for a necessary vowel to be pronounced : supposedly "*SPEI-". This root should have led to a number of different developments, and as fruits we see in English among others the words "spit , spear , spire, spike, spill, spine, spoke ".
The system is clear and also convincing. It is seen both in Indo European and Semitic. A root that has two consonants , here S and P, gets a third one and the meaning is diversified, so that multiple meanings are served by three-consonant roots constructed this way.
We can now speculate about which comes nearer to the Hebrew meaning of "S P . " = "to point out, stick out, protrude ". None of them is limited to two consonants. Perhaps the nearest is then the word "spine" that stands for the visible, protruding bones in the back. Anyone can have observed that there is no real convincing link between the two messages English expresses with a word "spine". The botanic one has real good sharp points and is undoubtedly related to "spit" and "spear".
But the anatomical one is quite different. It just indicates those bones that protrude a bit, being visible under the skin, that form the spinal column of us vertebrates. And it cannot be right to explain this word by "similitude" to the spines of a rose. Instead it is similar to the bones that are visible in the person whose flesh is consumed by sickness.
Note:
- Latin. The Latin word "spina" has been loaned into English , where "spine" carries the meanings of "thorn" as well as "backbone" already present in Latin.
Note:
- Proto-Semitic . Though similar roots, or the same with diversified meanings are found in other Semitic languages, we lack specific evidence as to use with the meaning of this entry. So we can make no hypothesis too different from Hebrew, though we must leave open the possibility or rather probability of an original pronunciation " P " of the second consonant.
Note:
- Indo-European. In the text the existing hypothesis of "*S P EI-" was already mentioned. It is used in the comparison. This means that the " N " as seen in Latin, has been added later. Roots beginning with " S P + vowel I/E/EI" have led to many Indo-European words, mostly with a third consonant added.
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| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 07/02/2013 at 11.03.13 |
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