E 0279          EACH

The word "each" is of Germanic origin

H 0020          א ח ד 

Concept of root : sole, one, someone

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

א ח ד

eghad

sole, one, someone

Related English words

each

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

א ח ד

eghad

sole, one, someone

e gh . d

English

each

each

e . ch

Old English

ægh-

 

each

e gh

Greek

έκας, έκαστος

hekas ; hekastos

sole ;

each

e k .

 

 

Proto-Semitic *EGHAD --- *EGH- Indo-European

 

 

The English word "each" is a very isolated appearance, without clear cognates in other Germanmic languages. In Middle English there are a.o. two words with one and the same meaning : "eche" and"ylc". They have different roots which we can also find in Old English "æghwilc" and "ælc". The current opinion reconducts both roots to one Indo-European root, that would be "*lik". This is certainly at least an incomplete reasoning. In our opinion the similarity with Greek and Hebrew shows that Middle English "eche" as well as the in Old English frequently used word part "ægh-" are akin to these two tongues, whereas "ælc" has a somewhat different origin; some see this word as a strong contraction of "æghwilc", but this remains very doubtful. Related is Dutch "elk" which has its predecessors in Middle Dutch, for example "eelc". In Dutch the root of "ech" is not found.

 

Note:
  • Hebrew. The Hebrew word "eghad" is malsculine. There exists a feminine version "aghat". This is an indication that the meaning of the root was carried in origin already without the addition of a dental D or T.

 

Note:
  • Greek in this case is like a link between English and Hebrew as it combines in the use of the same root the specific meanings that are found in the other two languages.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. The existing hypothesis of a root "*W . GH . D" or even "* Aleph . W . GH . D" is not very convincing. It seems to be based on Arabic "waghid = to be alone, unique", that is found alongside "aghad". But that "W" of "waghid" is to be seen as a prefix with the message of " to be ". This is comparable to the initial "Y" in Hebrew "yaghad = to be one, unite", developed out of an older "*waghad".

     

    Arabic also has "'aghad" like Hebrew, with feminine "'ighdà", that in Hebrew is "'aghat". Ugaritic has the same root as well and Ethiopian "'aghatti" is like the feminine form in Hebrew.

     

    The Proto-Semitic root of "eghad" can be hypothesized as similar to the Hebrew one : " א ח ד, *Aleph GH D ".

     

    A problem regarding the suppositions in this entry lies in the existence in Aramaic of a word " ghad " without the initial Aleph. This is just once also found in the Bible, EZ 33.30 : " ghad et aghad" , which is a combination of the two forms. Nearly all Semitic languages have the same root we see in Hebrew.

     

    There is no certain explanation for this Aramaic form "ghad", that may look a bit like a too modern shortening of an existing "aghad". But not even very probable would then be that in much earlier times the root of this entry did not have the initial vowel. That vowel would then be an athroistic prefix, that is added to a word or root without influencing its meaning. But that is also a far fantasy.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. Old English "ægh-" is a too isolated word to give an opening towards an independent hypothesis for Proto-Germanic, though a form similar to Indo-European "*E GH-" may well have existed.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. With only Old English "ægh-" and Greek "hekàs" and Attic "hékas" there is limited opening towards a hypothesis for Indo-European. There is no convincing etymology vor the Greek word. Some, with as basis that Greek initial "H" may come from an older "S", hypothesize a "*swe", from an older "*sewe-", leading to "he-" as in "heautou" for "oneself". This is then also linked to the well known "ethos" for "custom". It is risky to generalize by establishing such a kind of rule, "H < S". The similarity between English and Greek induces us to hypothesize an Indo-European "*E GH-", at the same time recognizing that we are not at all certain about this. In fact, like in a reasoning with petitio principii, the similarity with Hebrew seems to reinforce the hypothesis.

 

 

 
"...the town, to which was given the name Babel, because it was there that the Lord confused the language of all the world on the face of which He dispersed them. GENESIS 11,9"
 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 23/09/2012 at 18.16.48