E 0946          (TO)  TRY

The verb " to try " is of Germanic origin .

H 0997              ח ר ט                   

Concept of root : trying with effort

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ח ר ט

tharagh

to try (with effort)

Related English words

to try

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ח ר ט

tharagh

to try (with effort)

th . r . gh

Russian

стараться

staratjsya

to try (hard)

s t . r . ty

English

to try

to try

t r .

Dutch

trachten

traghten

to try

t r . gh (t)

Swedish

trakta

trakta

to try, strive

t r . k (t)

Norwegian

trakte

trakte

to try, strive

t r . k (t)

 

 

Proto-Semitic *THARAGH --- *TRĂKT- Proto-Germanic

 

 

This similarity seems very straightforward and clear-cut. Perhaps a complication lies in the fact that the Dutch verb "trachten" has also another message, as shown below.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. This root is also used in Aramaic " ט ר ח , theragh = to make efforts, try". Probably Proto-Semitic had this root : "* ט ר ח , TH R GH".

 

Note:
  • Dutch. The second meaning of "trachten" , besides "to try" is the same we find in Old English "trahtian" : "to consider, reflect, invent". The same is found in Old High German "trahton", as well as in composed modern German "betrachten = to consider, look at". Scholars agree that these verbs are loanwords from Latin , that had "tracto, tractavi, tractatum, tractare". But this verb does not really have that meaning. It says two different things . First " to treat" in various senses, and obviously the English verb comes from the Latin one. The second message is an intensiying of that of a verb "traho, traxi, tractum, trahere = to draw ", and naturally " to drag".

     

    The conclusion can only be that Dutch has two different verbs "trachten" with two quite independent meanings. The "considering, inventing" shared with Old English remains of a Germanic origin, that may be "*TR Ă K T-".
    The verb with the meaning of "to try", shared with modern English, is related to Hebrew "tharagh" of this entry.

 

Note:
  • English "to try" has a comparable problem in that its etymology is not clear at all. It has metaphorical and figurative meanings that normally come from the literal ones. But if it says " to smooth, fit, align accurately" we are in a different field, like that of Middle English "trien" for " to separate, pick out, sift". These have no semantic link with "efforts" or "tentatives". In fact English has two verbs "to try" of clearly different but hereto unknown origins. The similarity with Hebrew "tharagh" at least makes one of them clear.

     

    "To strive" may well be based on the same origin .

 

Note:
  • Swedish and Norwegian do not give us these problems. They have a straightforward similarity with Hebrew and their verbs "trakta" and "trakte" just say "to try, strive". This widens to some extent their scope.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. Old High German "trahton" also has two messages, "to think over, ponder" as well as the meaning of our entry "to try for". Together with the indication from the previous note one may suppose a Proto-Germanic "* TR Ă KT-".

 

Note:
  • Russian has a third consonant that is different, but frequently Slavic has applied this kind of change we see here, from GH into TSJ or the likes. On the other hand, it is not certain that this Russian word is related to the other words of this entry. There is a noun without that "TJS" that should corresponds with Hebrew "GH" and Dutch "CH GH": "старание, staranye = endeavour, effort, attempt". And the initial " S " can be a prefix, but that is dubious.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European The uncertainty about Russian leaves us without solid indications for cognates in other branches of Indo-European. The comparison stays between Semitic and Germanic.

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 13/12/2012 at 16.46.03