E 0632         ONEROUS

The word "onerous" is, via Old French, of Latin origin .

H 0158          ה נ ו ע ;  ה נ ע

Concept of root : heavy work

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ה נ ו ע ; ה נ ע

‛anà; ‛oné

to toil, drudge; toiling

Related English words

onerous, from Latin

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ה נ ע
ה נ ו ע

‛(a)nà;

 ‛(o)né

drudge,toil;

toiling

‘a n i;

‛o n .

Latin

onus;

ancus;

-

onus;

ancus;

-

heavy work;

slave, servant

(o) n (r);

(a) n k

-

English

onerous

onerous

o n ( r )

 

 

Proto-Semitic *‛ANA, *‛ONE' --- *AN-, *ONO-S, Indo-European

 

 

The entry is perhaps to be seen together with E 0040 " answer " (Hebrew 0157) and GR 1123 " ainos " (Hebrew 0156) as well as more especially with GR 1218 " oneidos " (Hebrew 0159) . This version of human behaviour when in front of somebody else, present in this entry, is that of serving that person, working hard , obviously to please him. In GR 1218 (Hebrew 0159) the subject in the basic form abases and humbles himself, but in the intensive form the subject humbles and oppresses others.

 

We see in Latin as well as in Hebrew how on the basis of this root, originally "vowel + N", diversified meanings are communicated by diversifying the vowels. Both tongues use the "A" and also the "O".

 

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. Proto-Semitic already used the same root "*ע נ ה" . It has cognates in the sense of "hard work, being busy" in Syriac "‛inn'à" (really an intensive form of the verb), Arabic "‛anà" and "‛aniyà = to be concerned" .

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. There are various words in Indo-European languages that may well be related to Latin "onus", that itself is seen as a development out of an older "*onos";

     

    Old Indian "ánas- = cart ( for carrying burdens)"

     

    Greek "ανια, ania = molesting, (fig.) burdensome"

     

    Greek, Aeolic "ονια, onia = molesting, (fig.) burdensome"

     

     

    Indo European may have used an initial " A " , an initial " O " or both. The structure probably was "*Ā/Ō N . S"

 

 

 

 
"...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: 22/12/2012 at 15.36.41