E 1000          WHORE

The word "whore" is of Germanic origin .

H 0222            ם ר י ע ,  ר ו ע

Concept of root : intimate nudity

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ם ר י ע ; ר ו ע

‛or;

‛erom

to be bared;

toto be nude

Related English words

whore

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ר ו ע

ם ר י ע ;

‛or ;

‛erom

to be bared; to be nude

 ‛o r

Greek

οαρ,

oar

woman as intimate partner

o a r

Old English

hore

whore

h o r

English

whore

whore

wh o r

 

 

Proto-Semitic *‛OR --- *HOR- Proto-Germanic

 

 

 

This entry is related to number E 0049 (Hebrew 0188). The Hebrew guttural opening by the "Ayin" corresponds again with a Germanic H . The basis of our supposition of common origin of these similar roots, is that nakedness has , from the moment people had begun to dress, so frequently been linked in the mind with " man and woman being intimately together " and as a step in a different direction "illecit sexual behaviour".

 

This means that we do not believe that the word " whore " is related to Latin " carus " for " dear, beloved".

 

Note:
  • Hebrew has other words that indicate nudity and begin with the Ayin and Resh, without the M and without the Yod inbetween : "ע ר". And, in the Bible only, we find the here indicated older form with a "waw" instead of "yod" in between. This word is especially near the Greek one.

     

    And Hebrew also has a root "ה ר ה , harą", that indicates the conception of children and gravity of women. Oddly how near this is to the Germanic root for "whore", which is "H R", usually with a "U" as inbetween vowel !

     

    In this entry, in the word "‛erom", the Yod ( י ) is not the consonant "Y", but a sign that a vowel has to be pronounced there, a sort of reading-help. But the reader still has to know by himself that the vowel to choose is an E.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. We refer to our note in entry E 0049 (Hebrew 0188). It is useful to note that the concepts that deal with nakedness in language may create reference to human body parts and also of specific actions of those parts. So we find here a root that in Arabic gives a word for "pudenda" and in Indo European for "whore".

 

Note:
  • English "whore" comes from Old English "hore". This word is found in other Germanic and Slavic languages as well. We do not see the denigrating sense of today as already present at its original use. This can be seen from the Greek word "oar" and the link with the concepts of intimity and with that of nudity in Hebrew.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. In Swedish we find "hor = adultery" and "hora = whore". Old Norse, Norwegian, Old Frisian, Old English and Danish are well nigh identical . Gothic had "hors" for "adulterer". In Old High German the words become "huor" and "huora" , maintained in Middle High German , followed by German "Hure". Middle Dutch passed from "hore" to "hoere" and the "hoer (hur)", that remained in Dutch. Proto-Germanic probably had "*H O R-".

 

Note:
  • Greek "oar" in which the two vowels naturally are pronounced distinctly and not as English "oa" in boar, not necessarily means always that a man and woman are making love. People may also be in a more intimate kind of conversation, but especially if they are married or lovers.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. It is not clear if Greek"oar" is indeed related to the mentioned Germanic and Hebrew words. According to Greek scholars it is based on the same root as the verb "αραρισκω, ararisko = to adapt, connect, press together". Then it would have a different origin. Therefore we better make no hypothesis for Indo-European.

 

 

 

 
"...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 11.10.02