E 0073          BASHFUL, ABASH

The words "bashful" and "abash" are of uncertain origin .

H 0282            ת ש ש ;ב ו ב; , ה נ ש ב

Concept of root : shame

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

; ה נ ש ב

ש ; ו ב

ת ש ב ,

bashәnà ;

bosh ;

boshet

shame ;

bashful, to be ashamed;

shame

Related English words

bashful, abash

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ה נ ש ב;

ש ו ב

-

-

ת ש ב

bashәnà ;

bosh

-

-

boshet

shame ;

to be ashamed, bashful;

shame

b . sh

English

bashful,

abash

bashful, ashamed

b . sh

 

 

Proto-Semitic *BOSH --- *BASH- English

 

 

Once more we find English the nearest to a Hebrew root. "Abash" is considered as coming from Middle English "abaisen, abashen" standing for " to gape with surprise " , based via Old French on a Latin verb "*batare = to gape, yawn". There seems to be hardly a basis for this theory, if any at all. The strong similarity of the English and Hebrew roots is a clearer and more important indication .

 

Note:
  • Hebrew shows us three different nouns with the same meaning on the basis of the root "B.W.SH" ( or B O SH) that stands for " to be ashamed". In the noun "bashenà" the W or O has disappeared. This word occurs only once in the Bible. The word "bushà" is used in Modern Hebrew. Both final T and final NA are regular ways of shaping nouns, inevitably here on the basis of a root "B . SH" standing for "shame".

     

    The specific message of bashfulness is seen in Post Biblical texts, but may well have been in use already in Biblical times.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. Proto-Semitic is supposed to have had two different roots :

    ת ו ב

    , "*B u (h)T" for " to shame" and "

    ת ה ב

    , *B (h)T" for "to be ashamed".

     

    There seems to be little evidence for this. The problems are two : 1. The last consonant was a dental like T or a sibilant like SH and 2. The presence or not of a guttural like H or GH.

     

    A "T" instead of an "S" is found in Ugaritic, but in that language we also find "bāsh" with the same "SH" as in Hebrew and in Akkadian there is "bāshu = he was ashamed". The idea of the (h) is based on Aramaic and Syriac with a root "B H T", that may have been pronounced "behèt". A similar root is found in Arabic with the messager of " to fornicate" which may be a shameful thing, but rather far of that of shame in general. Another important point lies in the existence of the Hebrew root "

    ז ו ב

    , b o z" that stands for "contempt", but also for "shame".

     

    Considering the way Semitic roots develop, "BOZ" more probably is a sister of "BOSH" than of "BOT". Proto-Semitic may very well have had " *

    ש ו ב

    , "B W SH" for "shame" , just like Hebrew.

 

Note:
  • English "to abash" says : "to make ashamed". Consequently the original root is found in the word "bash", standing for "shame". "Bashful" today is felt as "timid", but originally it said "full of shame", perhaps not so much shame for anything one has done, but ashamed to show oneself.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. English "to abash" comes from Middle English "abashien" with the same meaning. It is then tried to explain this Middle English out of a dialectal Old French "abacher", that would be comparable to modern French "abaisser = to lower". But, besides the fact that "abaisser" and its predecessors did not carry any message specifically about "shame", things are anyway the other way around: "to abash" comes from "bash", with a prefix "A", to shape this somewhat causative verb. Thus we remain without any convincing etymology for English "*bash" and can not make any hypothesis for Proto-Germanic.

 

 

 

 
"...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 17.16.28