E 0958          VAGUE

The word "vague" is, via Old French, of Latin origin.

H 0290            ך ו ב*

Concept of root : roaming

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ך ו ב*

bokh; *bawakh

*to roam, rove

Related English words

none

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ך ו ב*

bokh; *bawakh

to roam, rove

b . kh <

*w . kh

Latin

vagari ;

vagus

-

vagari ;

vagus

-

to roam ;

wandering, vague

v . g

English

vague

vague

v . g

 

 

Proto-Semitic *BAWAKH --- *VAG- Latin

 

 

This Hebrew root , already in the Bible, is found only in its passive form "ך ו ב נ ", pronounced "nawokh". And that means " to be lost (result of roaming ) " or figuratively "to be confused, perplexed". This tells us that the basic word should have meant "to roam". And it could have been pronounced in two different ways. The first one with the central Waw (ו) as a vowel "O", as "BOKH", the second one with the pronunciation as a consonant "W", naturally surrounded by two vowels, as "BAWAKH".

 

In fact also Aramaic has two versions. The first one is "ך ו ב , B W K; bokh" . The second one has developed a Yod out of the W: "ך י ב , B Y K, bayčkh. "

 

We opt for the second version, knowing the existence of the Latin word "vagari", that is, important to note, as well a passive or medio-passive form . The consequence might be that the Hebrew word had its first consonant, " B "; a prefix, added later to an original root "" *ך ו ", or "WAKH", well-nigh identical to the Latin root with the same message.

 

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. This root is found in Aramaic as already shown before, and also in Arabic bākhkha" and may well have been used in Proto-Semitic, "*ך ו ב , * B W K" or still as " *ך ו , *W K" .

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. Latin "vagor, vagari" normally should have its sister words in other Indo-European groups. We find a Greek couple of verbs that use the existing ways of expressing the first person singular, by a suffix "O = ego" or "MI = me" : αγνυω, agnuo and αγνυμι, agnumi, from an older root "*WAG-". Their meaning is clearly "to break, break into pieces", but that is then explained as "to bend and break" or as others say "to break through bending". Anyway, even if this explanation would be right, "to bend" is not "to rove, wander".

     

    Another attempt has been made with Germanic, with words found in our entries E 0972 WAG(GLE), SWAY (Hebrew 0219) and E 0973 WAG(GLE) (Hebrew 0614). The distance in meaning with "to roam, to rove" is considerable and we do not find herein a solid basis for a hypothesis for Indo-European. Regretfully we must stay just with Latin.

 

 

 

 
"...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: 10/10/2012 at 16.20.24