E 0660          PALEO -

"Paleo-" as the first part of words is of Greek origin .

H 0245            ה ל ב , א ל ב

Concept of root : wearing out

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ה ל ב, א ל ב

bal’à, balà

to wear out, become old

Related English words

paleo-

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ה ל ב ,א ל ב

bal’à,balà

to wear out, become old

b . l .

Greek

παλαι;

παλαιοω

-

palai; palaioo

-

old;

losing vigor, wearing out

p . l .

English

paleo-

paleo-

p . l .

 

 

Proto-Semitic *BALÀ --- *PALAI Greek

 

 

The Greek meaning of old, long ago, antique is well known internationally, through words like paleontology. From the Greek verb of this entry we see that the message of the results of old age are as well carried by it. In Hebrew all is concentrated on the results of the wearing out by age. Also meanings like "to decay" are covered by it. The difference between the voiceless P and the B does not contradict the common origin of the two roots.

 

 

Note:
  • Greek words can live on and on, also in English, because the Greeks with their science began to define things and modern people built and build further on that basis. Thus also "palai" can be found in English, as in the word for the science of old times and things : "paleontology".

     

    One notes a very interesting differentiation in two words : "παλαιος, palaios = old, antique, aged, elderly" and "παλαιοω, palaioo = to make old, to become old, go to ruin, lose vigor, wear out".

 

Note:
  • Hebrew shows us two versions, one verb ending on א, the other one on ה . The pronunciation does not really change very much and may have been somewhat nearer in certain districts or dialects. There are very many cases like this in Hebrew. This may be due to the fact that when people began to write alphabetically, in the old days of Abraham, both choices were possible. Or because later the lack of signs for vowels led to the idea to use "reading helps", in this case the Hé, to remind the reader that a vowel had to be pronounced in that position.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic

     

    This root, considered the same as seen in entry E 0346 (Hebrew 0244) is present in many Semitic tongues, such as Aramaic and Syriac "ב ל ה, bel'à", Arabic "baliya", Ethiopian "balya"and Akkadian "balū with the same or very similar meanings. This makes probable its existence in Proto-Semitic : "*ב ל ה".

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. No etymology has been established for Greek "palai". The concept of "to exist" of a root "pel" has no semantic link to it and neither that of "far away, distant" found in the very unsimilar "tèle". A hypothesis for Indo-European is hard to make.

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 08/10/2012 at 14.17.50