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E 0614 NEB
The word "neb" is of Germanic origin
H 0045 א ף
Concept of root: nose
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Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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א ף
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aph
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nose
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Related English words
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Old English : neb
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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 ף
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aph
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nose
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a . p <
*a . n . p <
*n . p
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English
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neb
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nose,
bill
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n . b
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Old Norse
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nef;
nebbi
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nose;
bill, beak
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n . f;
n . b
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Old English
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neb, nebb
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nose, bill, point
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n . b
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Old Icelandic
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nef
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nef
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nose
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n . f
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Middle Dutch
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nebbe
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nebbe
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nose, bill
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n . b
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Proto-Semitic *ANEP < NEP --- *NEB Proto-Germanic
We are dealing with two concepts, the human nose and a birds bill or beak, concepts that have something in common. It is no surprise if one root serves both .
The mentioned Germanic tongues have in the root of this entry an initial "N" that in Hebrew is absent.
The occurring supposition by some scholars that the Hebrew word "aph" for "nose" is a contraction of "
א
נ
ף , anaph" reduces the distance with the Indo European words of this entry . But if we realize that the message of the verb " anaph " is that of "to be angry", we might not easily see the supposed link in meaning . The human nose in some expressions is used to express feelings, like loathing and anger. This apparently has led to the creation of a verb "to nose" for "to be angry".
In Hebrew specifically there is a common expression for "to be(come) angry", that says "gharą 'aph-" . The verb "gharą" stands for "to burn, inflame, get angry" . Again, the earlier mentioned verb "anaph" with the comparable meaning of "to become angry" is considered by some scholars as originating from "'aph = nose".
Yet, if we find the word "
א
נ
פ
ה , anaphą = heron, egre " one of the birds with the longest beaks ever , we are again on more solid ground of a possible common origin with Old English " neb " . Some scholars maintain the link between "nose" and "to be angry", trying to explain the meaning of the name "anaphą" for "heron" as "the quarrelsome bird" . With some bird-watching it is really easy to establish that herons are among the most peaceful birds.
Note:
- Proto-Semitic. The languages can be divided in groups : Hebrew, Ugaritic, Akkadian and partially Aramaic have "Aleph P". Arabic, Ge'ez Ethiopian, Tigrai and Aramaic in part have " Aleph N P", pronounced normally "anf". There can be little doubt that , as is in fact the usual opinion, Proto-Semitic had " א
נ
ף* Aleph N. P ".
The consequence of the similarity with Indo European words of this entry may mean that the Semitic Aleph has been a confirming prefix to an earlier root " * N P" that may have been older than Proto-Semitic. This hypothesis would be in harmony with the existing Hebrew root "N P GH" in the verb "naphagh" that says " to blow, breathe". But in entry E 0657 ( Hebrew 0651) we see a conflicting hypothesis. Sooner or later we will have to make a choice where the truth may be.
Hebrew "aph" besides "nose" also stands for "anger". Some scholars therefore suppose that the Hebrew word "aph " for both meanings has been derived from another root " Aleph N P" that in fact says ; "to be angry". We rather see a coincidence , with the misunderstanding caused by the expression : "gharą ha'aph" for "to be(come) angry. When someone is angry, his nose may wrinkle a bit . And the original meaning of "gharą" is " to burn". Via " to burn with rage" this has led to a second independent meaning of " to be(come) angry".
Note:
- Proto-Germanic. On the basis of the words of this entry, "neb", Germanic languages, in this case German and Dutch have developed words by adding a prefix "S" and a suffix ""L", this preceded by a vowel , a dull "E" as link for proper pronunciation. The words are "Schnabel" and "snavel". We see the interesting phenomenon of a "B" becoming "V" that is also characteristic for Hebrew! Middle Dutch and Middle Low German show as well an intermediate form : "snebbe". Here the "B" remains itself by doubling, again exactly as can be seen so often in Hebrew.
In Nordic languages one sees as well a word "snabel", related to the original word "neb", but in this case further meanings come into the picture, such as "trunk (of the elephant)". Some see these Nordic works as loaned from German, but that sounds too improbable if one notes that Middle Dutch "snavel" meant indeed "(elephants) trunk", but as well "bill, beak". The original concept of "nose" has led to comparable meanings regarding animals. And indeed an elephants trunk is his nose.
The brief and older word "neb" has its sisters in older and modern Nordic languages, always sounding "'E", be it also spelled as Danish "nębbe" and Swedish "näbb" or Swedish dialect "näv". Old Norse spelled "nebbi= bill", but had "nef = nose", probably just reflecting the real pronunciation . Proto-Germanic presumably had just the form "*N E B-" .
Note:
- Indo-European. We have, regretfully, no useful information from outside Germanic to formulate a hypothesis for Indo-European.
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| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 21/01/2013 at 10.00.05 |
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