GR 1129          ALALIA

H 0129            ה ל ע

Concept of root : wickedness

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ה ל ע

‛olà

wickedness

Related English words

none

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ה ל ע

‛olà

wickedness

׳o l

Greek

αλαλια

alalia

wickedness

 a l a l

 

 

Proto-Semitic *‛OLA --- *ALAL Greek

 

 

This is one of these not too few examples of similarity to be seen between Hebrew and Greek without clear links to other Indo-European tongues.

 

The Greek word has doubled the syllable with "L", giving more expressiveness to the word. Hebrew has done a comparable thing in a second word with the same meaning of "wickedness" and on basis of the same root, but spelled, as it seems wrongly, without the letter ו ,"Waw " : "ע ל ת ה , ‛olatà".

 

 

Note:
  • Hebrew. In reality this word is based on a root that has three elements : " ע ו ל" . The central letter, called "waw", can be pronounced in various ways, from "O" or "U" to "W" and even "F". And so we find two words for wickedness, "ע ל ה" , pronounced "׳olà" and " ע ו ל ה" , pronounced " ׳awәlà ". This changing of the sound of the letter "waw" is one of the most interesting phenomena in Hebrew.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. This root is seen as derived from the similar one that says " to rise", and that was indeed also present in Proto-Semitic. Regarding the specific meaning of this entry we find further evidence : in Aramaic a word "ע ו ל א , pronounced "׳awel'à". Then there is Syriac "א ע ו ל" , pronounced "'a׳ewal". The Hebrew verb "ע ו ל , pronounced "׳awwal = to act wrongfully", has a sister in Arabic "‛ala = he went off the right course". So Proto-Semitic probably had this root " *ע ו ל" .

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. There are no known links to other Indo-European groups. Therefore we must limit ourselves to the similarity between Greek and Hebrew.

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 30/09/2012 at 17.48.59