GD 1116          WEIGEREN

H 1045            ר ה י                     

Concept of root : pride and resistance

 Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ר ה י

yahar

to be haughty, proud

Related English words

none

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ר ה י

yahar

to be haughty, proud

y . h . r <

*w . h . r

Old High German

weigar ;

-

weigaron

-

weigar ;

-

weigaron

-

proud, stubborn ;

to resist, refuse

w . g . r

German

weigern

weigern

to refuse

w . g . r

Middle Dutch

weiger

weigher

proud, stubborn, refusing

w . gh r

Dutch

weigeren

weigheren

to refuse

w . gh . r

 

 

Proto-Semitic *YAHAR < *WAHAR --- *WĒGHĔR- Proto-Germanic

 

 

The messages of this root moves along the line of pride, arrogance , stubbornness and refusal.

 

The oldest meaning of "pride" is present in Hebrew and the newest one of "refusal" has become the rule in modern Germanic tongues, including the Nordic ones.

 

We see the stronger guttural G or GH as having substitued the H in German, respectively Dutch.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic . We have limited information from other languages for a solid hypothesis for a Proto-Semitic root ."* ו ה ר , W H R", but we consider it probable as a natural predecessor of the Hebrew root " י ה ר ,Y H R ". This root "Y H R " is also present in Aramaic and the original "*W . H . R" may have been used in Proto-Semitic.

     

    The similarity with Hebrew , with the three consonant roots with a final R, shows that there is no reason to suppose that German "weigern" is based on older roots "W (i) G" or "W (i) H" for " to fight". This hypothesis was anyhow not logic, for the following reasons. Either a verb ending on "-eren" is an intensive verb, but "to refuse" is not an intensive or iterative form of " to fight", on the contrary. Or, the other point, the adjective "weiger" would have been formed with a suffix "-er" behind a root "W . G". But than it would have meant " he who fights", not "he who refuses".

     

    Once more the usefulness of comparing European roots and their development with Hebrew is demonstrated.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic . For the Germanic words of this entry , present in German, Dutch, Frisian and their predecessors, sister words are found in North Germanic languages, such as Swedish "vägra" from Old Swedish "vēghra". It is important to note the special consonant "GH", that is similar to the sound of the "G" in Dutch "weigeren" and Middle Dutch "weigheren" and "wegheren". Also important is Old Danish "weyer" that followed the in Nordic and English so frequent tendency to change "G" into "Y" . But modern Danish has again "vægre", with just "G", not "GH" or "Y". There is no reason to suppose that Norwegian "verge" was loaned from Middle Low German, that was very similar to Middle Dutch, though no predecessor is known in Old Norse. Proto-Germanic words may go out of use in several Germanic languages while continuing to exist in others.

     

    The words for the concept of stubbornness and refusal related to this entry begin with a consonant "W" that in Scandinavia is spelled "V". The following vowels are "E", sometimes spelled "Ä", and in a number of cases, even already in very early times, developed into "EI". The second consonant , "G" or "GH" , seen the specific case of Old Swedish, in Proto-Germanic may have been "GH", but that remains uncertain. The final consonant "R" may have its origin as a suffix for a noun. Indicating "he who acts" and the in between vowel is often a dull "E", but may be different according to the characteristics of the languages. Probably Proto-Germanic had "*W Ē GH Ĕ R-", but also "*W Ē G Ă R" is possible.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. Some words have been proposed as cognates. For example Latin "vincere = to win", Old Irish "fichim = I fight", Lithuanian "vikrus = vigorous, stalwart" and Old Church Slavonic "vĕkŭ = eternity". The messages of these words, very different between them, have hardly any bearing on the essence of Germanic "wēgher". We see no hyèpothesis for Inmdo-European and the comparison remains between Semitic and Germanic, as very often is the case.

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 15/12/2012 at 18.24.39