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E 0008 AEDM
"Aedm" is an Old English word of Germanic origin
H 0009 א ד ם
Concept of root : breathing,
man
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Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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א ד ם
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adam
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man
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Related English words
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Old English : ędm = breath
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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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א ד ם
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adam
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man
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a d . m
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Old Indian
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atman
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atman
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breath,
soul
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a t . m
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Old Saxon
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athum, athom
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athum; athom
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breath,
ghost; breath, soul
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a t . m
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Old English
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ædm
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breath,
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a d . m
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Old High German
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adhmot, atum
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adhmot, atum
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breath,
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a d . m, a t . m
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Middle High German
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atem, aten, adem
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atem, aten, adem
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breath, ghost, vital strength
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a t . m a d . m
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German
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Atem
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atem
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breath
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a t. m
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Dutch
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adem
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adem
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breath
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a d .m
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Middle Dutch
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adaem
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adām
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breath
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a d . m
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Proto-Semitic *ADAM --- *ADAM Indo-European
Breathing and having a soul are among the most basic elements of existing as a human being . Genesis is very clear . This makes it understandable that one and the same root has been chosen in various languages to express these concepts. In Hebrew with its exactness and down to earth thinking the root says the essential , "man". In Old Indian with its spirituality "soul " could easily prevail.
In Germanic instead with its cultural tendency to link humans with their spirits , "breath" and "ghost" have come out on top.
This entry is related to E 0111 (Hebrew 0010). The usual view is that the word "adam" has been derived from "adamą", that says " soil, earth ". Such a kind of development may be natural in modern European usage of shortening words, but the normal way would have been to shape "adamą" , which as Genesis explains is the soil man has to work, by adding the suffix "ą" to "adam", the word for "man". Genesis then says that God shaped man out of dust from the soil, with what might seem like a slightly anachronistic use of the word, unless one reads the meaning of "adama" (also) as the "soil fit for creating adam" from it.
Note:
- Proto-Semitic is seen as having had the root "Aleph D M" that is still used in Hebrew : א
ד
ם .
Note:
- Hebrew and Middle Dutch are identical in sound !
Note:
- English no more uses this word and has concentrated on " breath " that is a development of another Old English word, "bręth", that stood for "exhalation" . In Middle English the
meaning of " air from the lungs" was added to the original one .
Note:
- Dutch has also the word "asem" with the same meaning of breath. This is often considered just an alteration of "adem". This might be true but has no certain basis. The odd thing is that
"to breathe" in Hebrew says "nasham", as is seen in entry E 0622 (Hebrew 0659). Hebrew often has used the N as a prefix and if that would be the case here as well, "asem" might seem related to that different Hebrew root !
Note:
- Proto-Germanic. German has changed the "D" into "T", but with much hesitation during Old and Middle High German. Old Saxon "TH" is a non uncommon and later very English development out of a "D". The probable Proto-Germanic form is "*A D e M".
Note:
- Indo-European. Proto-Germanic "ADeM = breath, soul" with Old Indian and Sanscrit "atman = breath, soul, life, body" and "atma = oneself, one's nature, one's essence" must have had a common origin . The probable Indo-European form is "*A D A M".
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| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 22/09/2012 at 17.36.30 |
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