GD 1070          POGEN

H 0242            ן ח ב

Concept of root : trying

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ן ח ב

ן ח ב ו

baghan

boghen

to try out ;

trying out

Related English words

none

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ן ח ב ;

ן ח ו ב

baghan ;

boghèn

to try out;

trying out

b gh n

Dutch

pogen

poghen

to try

p gh

Middle Dutch

poghen

poghen

to try

p gh

 

 

Hebrew BOGHEN < Proto-Semitic *BOGH- --- *POG-EN Middle Dutch

 

 

This similarity looks rather perfect. We will look into it a bit further. The difference between a Hebrew B and a Germanic P at the beginning of a word is quite possible as a development on basis of a common origin.

 

Note:
  • Dutch has even the final N like Hebrew, but this is misleading. The suffix "-en" is just that of forming an infinitive. That leaves us with only the first two consonants plus the meaning of our words in similarity, which is quite sufficient if the Hebrew N has been added later.

     

    Important is that Dutch "poghen" is a completely isolated word, not found in other Germanic languages besides in Low German. As we know, Low German in origin is the same language as Dutch .

     

    In fact we see that Dutch has retained old roots and words that surprisingly find relatives in Ancient Hebrew. Here we have just one example . This kind of findings gives a strong confirmation of the hypothesis of the former existence of the common language called Nostratic.

 

Note:
  • Hebrew has , besides "baghan" of this entry also the word " ב ח ר , baghar ", that says "to choose, prefer" . This is sufficiently near to "baghan" to suppose the possibility that both have been developed in the process of differentiation by adding a third consonant to a common origin of a two-consonant root "*B GH", near what we find in the Dutch word.

     

    Really there is another aspect still. That old Hebrew root might have had a "waw" in between, which is a very frequent phenomenon, and thus having a pronunciation "*BOGH" which is still nearer to the Dutch word "POGHen". And a Hebrew participle is "BOGHEN".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic and Indo-European. Seen the fact that the Dutch word is fully isolated, with no cognates known in other Germanic languages, no hypothesis for Proto-Germanic or Indo-European is feasible.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. This root is found , as so often is the case, also in Aramaic and Syriac, "beghan = to try, test" . In Arabic there are two related roots. The first in the word "baghatha = he examined, searched", the other in the composed verb " maghana to probe, examine". It is quite possible that Proto-Semitic used the same root we find in Hebrew : "*ב ח ן, B GH N ".

     

    Referring to the reasoning in the above Note on Hebrew, one may suppose that Proto-Semitic originally had a root "*ב ו ח, B W GH , bogh".

 

 

 

 
"...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: 08/10/2012 at 13.43.43