E 0819          (TO)  SIEVE

The verb " to sieve " is of Germanic origin.

H 1079           ק ק ז                      

Concept of root :  to sieve

 Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

 ק ק ז

 zaqaq

 to sieve

Related English words

 to sieve

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ק ק ז

zaqaq

 to sieve

 z . q . q <

*z . q

Old Norse, Old Swedish, Swedish

sikta

sikta

to sieve

s . k t

Middle Dutch

seigen ,

zichten

s(ei)ghen,

zighten

to sieve

s . gh ;

z . gh

 

 

Proto-Semitic *ZIQQÉ --- *SĬCHT- Proto-Germanic < *ZĒKHT Indo-European

 

 

There are two different roots for " to sieve " in West Germanic. One has S or Z plus V or F, the other has S or Z plus GH or KH . This second one shows similarity with the Hebrew root of this entry.

 

It is, like so often, Middle Dutch that has carried on the similarity with Hebrew. The verbs of this entry have disappeared from use in modern language, leaving the grounds to the already existing versions with V and F, respectively "zeven" and "ziften".

 

 

Note:
  • Hebrew used the intensive form of this verb , ziqqèq, for "to purify". In modern languages it uses this root to indicate the processes of refinery and distillation.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic . We find "Z Q Aleph" in Aramaic and Syriac " ז ק א, zeq'à , and the words "ziq" (Hebrew) , "ziqq" (Arabic) and "zeqq" ( Ethiopian) with the meaning of "leather bottle, wineskin" and scholars link these to the word of this entry. But there is quite some semantic distance. Somewhat nearer are the roots "Z . K . " and " Z . K . K" with the meaning of "to be clear, clean". This is found in Hebrew , Aramaic and Syriac " ז כ א , zekhà and " ז כ י , zekhì= was pure, clean". Akkadian "zakū" and Arabic "zaka, dhaka" carry the same meanings of "pure, clean". It must be remarked further, that not only Arabic, but also Aramaic and Syriac have a second version, with "D", in "dekhà; dekhì". This may be one of those cases in which the wise men who codified alphabetic writing ( which must have been done in the times of the Patriarchs in what today is Israel) made different choices . Some wrote a Qoph, where others chose a Kaph . It is also possible that the version with Q ( qoph ) was introduced to diversify " to sieve " from other ways of purifying. Probably Proto-Semitic had anyway both "* ז ק א , Z Q Aleph " and "* ז כ א, Z . K Aleph ". For the comparison the vowels " I " and " E " are used as may have been the case in Proto-Semitic.

 

Note:
  • English " sieve ", like Old English " sĭfe " and together with sisterwords like Dutch " zeef " might have been a development out of the root with a guttural as shown in this entry . They are anyhow related .

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic . A frequent phenomenon in Germanic is that of two parallel roots, ending respectively with " -GH T" and "-F T". This is also the case with words for "to sieve". Besides Middle Dutch and Middle Low German "sichten" there is "siften" , with also Old English "siftan" and modern English "to sift". Both roots are also found in Middle Dutch nouns, "sichte= sieve" and "sifte = sieve". There are also nouns that have "B", as Old High German "sib" and German "Sieb".

     

    The words with "-cht" are seen as having been loaned from Middle Low German into the Nordic languages as well as into High German, but this is a rather empty guess. It is more probable that already Proto-Germanic had both forms, meaning in the case of this entry "*S I KHT-" and "*S I FT-"

     

    "Sieve" is not directly related to Hebrew zaqaq.

     

    In North Germanic there is another root, "S . L D", found already in Old Norse "sāld, and then as "såld = sieve, strainer" in modern Norwegian.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European In other Indo-European groups we have found no confirmation of a root similar to Germanic and Hebrew. Slavic has "S . T" as in Russian "сито, sito = sieve", as found in other Slavic languages. Baltic is similar to this and Celtic has "S . T L". Greek has "ηθεω, èthéo = to sieve".

     

    As rather often, we find a similarity between Hebrew and Germanic without sufficiently clear signs from other Indo-European groups to allow a hypothesis different from Proto-Germanic. There is no explanation for this, other than that Germanic in such cases has better conserved the Indo-European origin. This should then have been "*S Ē K(H)-", or even "*Z Ē K(H)-", but that is a far shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 20/12/2012 at 11.41.08