E 0035          ANGUISH

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

H 0168   ע ק ה

;    א ק ע 

Concept of root : anguish, narrowness

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ה ק ע ;

א ק ע

‛aqà ;

‛aq'à

anguish, narrowness;

distress, pressure

Related English words

anguish

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ה ק ע

-

א ק ע

-

‛aqà

-

‛aq'à

-

anguish, narrowness; distress, pressure

‛a q .

-

‛a q '(a)

-

Greek

αγχω

ankho

to squeeze, tighten, soffocate

 a gkh

Latin

ango

ango

to squeeze, tighten, anguish

a ng

Old English

enge

narrow; anxious

e ng

English

anguish

anguish

a ng

German

eng

èng

narrow

e ng

Dutch

eng

èng

narrow, creepy

e ng

 

 

Proto-Semitic *‛AQA --- *ANG- Indo-European

 

 

The Indo-European words have been nasalized, that is an "N" has been introduced before the K-like sounds, in this case a "G". In Greek in pronunciation, but not yet in writing, in Latin also in writing: " ango " and "angustia", from which English "anguish " has come, via Old French "anguisse ".

 

Note:
  • Hebrew in the Bible has the abovementioned noun. In modern language the message has become that of "misery", a development comparable to what we find in modern Italian in the derived word "angustia".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic Hebrew has a root " Ayin W Q" with the same message . The Hebrew root with Aleph as third consonant is found as such also in Aramaic *ע ק א Ayin Q Aleph" . and Syriac *ע ק א Ayin Q Aleph" . Proto-Semitic has certainly used one or more of the three roots of this entry, probably in the older forms: " *ע ו ק Ayin Waw Q " . *ע ק א Ayin Q Aleph" and " *ע ק ה Ayin Q Hé" , in which we use the letter "Hé" to indicate an accentuated vowel after the second consonant. Arabic has a verb with the root "Ayin Q ", meaning " to hinder, impede" which may be related.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic It must be noted that the root "vowel(E) + N + G "in the words "eng = narrow" also in Germanic languages has also been used to express, in the form "Vowel(A) + N + G" the concept of fear : "angst". The word "angst" is now used also in English as a loanword from Yiddish. Old English used the same word "enge" for the literal as well as for the figurative concepts, as shown in the Table. In Old Norse a vowel "O" or "Ø" was present but in later Nordic it was , again , "A", sometimes as "Ä", which sounds like "E".

     

    There can be little doubt that Proto-Germanic already diversified into "*E N G-" for the concept of "narrowness" and "*A N G -" for the concepts of "fear, anguish".

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. We refer to our note in entry E 0036 (Hebrew 0640)

     

    Celtic presents both nasalized and not nasalized roots, among which an unexplained Irish "ochte = angustia". But the supposed Celtic root for the concept of "narrow, to narrow" is "*engh-". This finds some support in Breton "enk = narrow" and Cymric "ing, yng = straits, narrow". Celtic probably had indeed "E NG-.

     

    Old Indian has "amhu- = narrow", "amhú- = anxiety", ""amhurá- = straitened" and "ámhas- = anxiety, trouble". The European "N" has become an "M" and the European "G/K" an "H". The root is "A MH-" and can not be considered at the origin of the other groups.

     

    Avestan has "az-anhē = to constrain, coerce" as well as other words without the "N", as "azah- = oppression, constriction". The element "A NH- without the initial (prefix ) "AZ" seems to be related to the other Indo-European groups.

     

    Indo-European , on the basis of Latin, Greek, Germanic, Celtic and the indications from the Eastern languages, can be hypothesized as "*A NG-".

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 22/12/2012 at 16.30.26