E 0649          OVEN

The word " oven " is of Germanic origin.

H 0208         ג ו ע , ה ג ו ע

Concept of root : cooking in oven

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ג ו ע ;

ה ג ו ע

‛awag, ‛og ;

‛ugà

to cook in oven ;

cookie

Related English words

oven

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ג ו ע

-

ה ג ו ע

‛awag, ‛og ;

‛ugà

to cook in oven; cookie

‛a u g

-

‛o g

Swedish

ugn

ugn

oven

u g n

Old Norse

ogn , ofn  

ogn, ofn  

oven

o g n ;

o f n

Norwegian

ovn

ovn

oven

o v n

Old Danish

ogn

ogn

oven

o g n

Gothic

auhns

auhns

oven

au h n

English

oven

oven

o v . n

Old Indian

ukhá-h

ughàh

frying-, baking-pan

u kh .

 

 

Hebrew *‛OG;, *‛UGÀ --- *UGN Proto-Germanic < *OGN- Indo-European

 

 

There can be special surprises when one looks for similarities between European languges and Hebrew. In this case we see the Nordic languages as standard-bearer. Other Germanic languages have, like English, "oven" or "Ofen". And these names are related to a different Hebrew root , seen in entry E 0648 (Hebrew 0048) . Yet scholars of Germanic are convinced that both versions, oven and ogn , are of the same origin .

 

There remains a difference, in the extra N in all Germanic words, not found in Hebrew. But this N is also not seen in Old Indian. That means that this N is a later, probably only Germanic development.

 

Note:
  • Ovens and grapes do not have much in common. But in Latin and Italian "grapes" ar "uva" and yet in Milanese language it has become "uga"! A same change of letter as seen in the words for "oven" and shown in the following Note on Swedish.

 

Note:
  • Swedish this time does not have its position shared by the other modern Nordic languages, that stand with English in "ovn ". But it is in partial harmony with the language of the Vikings, Old Norse "ogn " and " ofn ", as well as Old Danish (ogn) and Gothic.

     

    The thesis of some scholars is that all the Germanic words for " oven" come from an Indo European root "* auk-" , an idea based on the Old Indian word "ukhá-h" for " frying-pan" or "baking-pan".

     

    Other scholars, especially in Scandinavia, see the G in "ugn" as an alteration of the F or V .

 

Note:
  • Hebrew has an identical root that carries the meaning of " to draw a circle " . On this basis some scholars see both roots not only as identical, but as being just one root. The cake or cookie, baked in the oven, would per definition be round. And then the verb " to cook in oven " would have been shaped after the word for " cookie ". One should hesitate before seeing a longer word at the basis of a shorter one.

     

    Usually new words are built by extending existing ones, at least in older times. Modern word shaping can be different. Anyhow one can be sure that cookies or cakes were not per definition the results of drawing circles. Nor did they have to be necessarily round. Both verbs stay apart, way off in their meanings .

 

Note:
  • Hebrew and Germanic. The interesting thing remains that we find in both Germanic and Hebrew the two different versions, respectively with F/V and with G !

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. Regretfully there is no information that would allow a hypothesis for a Proto-Semitic root, besides the fact that we see a similarity with Indo European. To be clear, also for the meaning " to draw a circle" of the other, identical root we mentioned, there lacks such evidence . The Arabic word " 'awija " with the meaning " was crooked, curved, bent" is anyhow way off.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. The words with a "G" in them are present just in North Germanic and a version with "H" instead of "G" was used in Gothic. The opening vowel can have been a "U" or an "O", but the presence of the "U" in Gothic, where it been extended for pronunciation with an "A", tilts the balance of probability to that vowel. Interesting is that it has the final "N" in common with the group of English "oven". Presumably Proto-Germanic, besides the form with "OV", had "*U G N".

     

    The English word "oven" has " identical" sister words in Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Dutch, Middle Low German and Middle High German. Very similar are Old High German "ovan" , Old English "ofen" and German "Ofen" as well as Danish "ovn" that no more uses the mute "E", just as Old Norse and Old Swedish in "ofn". With regard to the consonant after the vowel, possibly this opening vowel, a long "O" has led in several languages to a voicing of the following consonant, that was "F" and became "V". Presumably Proto-Germanic had the form "*O F N-".

 

Note:
  • Latin. The well known Latin word "ignis = fire, flame, glow, light", that has its cognates in various Indo-European languages, may very well be also related to the Germanic root of abovementioned "ugn = oven". Its root is "I GN-".

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. Old Indian has "agni-gh = fire". Hittite has agnish = fire". Russian presents " о г о н ь, ogonj = fire", after Old Church Slavonic "ognj". Baltic sees Lithuanian"ugnìs" and Latvian "uguns".

     

    Indo European probably had an initial vowel, followed by "GN". The vowel is uncertain, but if one considers the possible development of " I " as well as " U " out of an earlier " O ", Indo-European may have been "O GN-" for the concept of "fire". This may have been used more specifically to indicate fire as made, controlled and used by people.

     

    For the concept of "oven" Indo-European probably had a form near to Proto-Germanic, as we find also Greek with a not unsimilar root in "ιπνος, ipnos = oven". This seen as coming from an older "*wipnos", that may have a predecessor "*opn-os". A very probable Indo-European form is then "*O P N-".

 

 

 

 
"...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: 23/12/2012 at 10.13.04