|
E 1004 W I N
To word "win" is of Germanic origin
H 0082 א ו ן
Concept of root: to gain
|
Hebrew word
|
pronunciation
|
English meanings
|
|
א ו ן
|
on
|
to gain
|
|
|
|
Related English words
|
win
|
|
|
Comparison between European words and
Hebrew
|
Languages
|
Words
|
Pronunciation
|
English meanings
|
Similarity in roots
|
|
Hebrew
|
א ו ן
|
on
|
gain,
acquire
|
o n
|
|
Greek
|
ωνη; ωνεομαι
|
onč;
oneomai
|
acquisition; to acquire
|
o n
|
|
English
|
win
|
|
|
wi n
|
|
Dutch
|
winnen
|
winnen
|
gain, win
|
wi n
|
|
German
|
gewinnen
|
gewinnen
|
gain, win
|
wi n
|
Proto-Semitic *ON --- *VIN Indo-European
Some consider this Hebrew word with the sense of " to acquire " as simply Post Biblical and as often in such a view, the similarity with a Greek word induces scholars to presume that Hebrew loaned the word from Greek. In this case " Aleph Waw Nun" as a root serves various meanings and we have dedicated several distinct entries to similarities with Germanic words, that perhaps can be seen as three couples : " to win" and "to own", "young" and " yean", "un-" and "(Dutch) wan".
This root is abundantly present in the Bible and it is highly improbable that it would have been given also to a rather unnecessary loanword. Different meanings are according to other scholars present in or related to the words of Genesis 49.3 . We remark that the English verb " to win" can also be used in the sense of " to win a son". And our Hebrew root seen in Genesis 49.3, when Jacob speaks about his first born, Ruben, has found different translations, expressing concepts as " to acquire " "(my) vigor", "(my) power" "virility". Rachel, before dying in childbirth, called Benjamin "Ben-oni" and there is no agreement if this means " Son of my suffering" or "Son of my strength".
The very versatile letter "waw" is known for its adventurous migrations through various sounds, its life and even its death. In Greek it has practically disappeared, already in classic times. In Hebrew it has , at the beginning of words, been substituted by a "Y". And in many cases, both at the beginning or inside a word, we find "I" in its place.
Consequently it is no wonder that a Hebrew "waw" frequently corresponds with a European "I". And easily this may be in the form of a double sound, that of the original "W" plus a vowel. In the case of this entry the "new" vowel is an "I". Thus the English word "win" is related to Hebrew "on".
Note:
- Proto-Semitic The rich variation of meanings expressed by this Hebrew root makes it probable that it existed in Proto-Semitic, possibly in identical form : "*Aleph Waw, Nun" or even "* Waw Nun":
- Proto-Semitic may have had " *
א
ו
ן
, 'on "
Note:
- English "to win " . Especially in Dutch it is very difficult to reconcile the various meaning of the verb "winnen". With English and within the field of Germanic languages this is generally the case. But the same phenomenon goes for Hebrew "on". For a clear understanding of the similarities between Germanic (English etc. ) and Hebrew we will deal in the followings entries with various meanings as with different items. But there may be a common denominator of the common root, that has not been univocally clarified.
Note:
- Proto-Germanic The Germanic sister words of the English strong verb "to win" have "WINN-", except in the Nordic languages, where we see "VINN-" with the same pronunciation . It is important to note that the range of meanings of these verbs in the past included the "making efforts to win", like "to work hard, battle, suffer, obtain". The basic concept may thus have been that of "making any necessary efforts with success". Proto-Germanic probably had "*W I NN-", using in past verbal forms and participles also "O" and "A" and perhaps "U".
Note:
- Indo-European . In several more important languages the combination "W + vowel + N" with the message of "to win, gain" is confirmed and this was probably present in Indo-European.
Latin "vinco, vincere = to win, to conquer , to gain". In this case there is no nasalization, but a consonant "N" in the original root. The comparison with words like Old Irish "fichim = I fight, battle" that in fact has a different meaning, is misleading. The essential message of "to win" is the result of the action, not the effort that leads to that result.
Old Indian "vanóti = he wins, he conquers, he gains". But there are also "vinda" and "vindu" that say "to find, to gain". Thus the meaning of "to gain" is on a crossway between "to find" and "to win", two ways of obtaining, gaining something. And the two verbs, "to win" and "to find", in Germanic languages are rather similiar, also in the past tenses of the verbs, like in Dutch "won" and "vond".
Avestan "vanaiti = he wins".
Indo-European The presence of a vowel " I " in the abovementioned words is an indication that, as so often, Old Indian opts for a vowel "A" that originally was not used or less generally used. So the probable hypothesis becomes "*V Ĭ N-" for "to win, gain".
|
|
|
| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 27/09/2012 at 17.05.42 |
|