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E 0384 GRADE
The word " grade " is of possible
Latin origin .
H 0327 ה ג ר ד מ
Concept of root : to step up
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Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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ה ג ר ד מ
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madregā
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step
(made or natural)
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Related English words
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grade
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Comparison between European words and
Hebrew
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Languages
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Words
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Pronunciation
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English meanings
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Similarity in roots
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Hebrew
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ה ג ר ד מ
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maděregā
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step (made or natural)
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d . r . g
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Latin
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gradus
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gradus
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step
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g r . d
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English
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grade
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step
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g r . d
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Old English
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grād
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step
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g r . d
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Old High German
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grād
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graad
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step
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g r . d
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Middle Dutch
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graet
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ghraat
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step
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g r . t
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Proto-Semitic *DARAG --- *GRAD- Indo-European
A metathesis seems to have occurred , seen the difference between Latin and Hebrew. Around the " R " there are more frequent cases of metathesis, as is known from English. Interesting is a comparison with the next entry, number E 0385 (Hebrew 0328) that deals with a rather similar root : "D R KH" . We will encounter there the same Latin root of this entry, but also Greek and Russian that have roots very similar to the Semitic one. This makes us believe that the metathesis has taken place in Latin and or Germanic. It is also possible that in Indo- European two roots have existed together, "*G R D " and "*D R G".
Note:
- Hebrew "madregā" is a composed word, with "MA-" as a prefix and "ד ר ג",
D R G" as the root. This implies that the root means "to step up". That does not imply that the root " D R G " has been shaped back out of "madrega", as some think. The same root in Semitic is also used for "to walk".
Note:
- Proto-Semitic. This root is found in Aramaic and Syriac "ד ר ג א , dareg'ā"
= "step". In Akkadian it is used for "daragu, durgu = path" and in Arabic there is "daraja = he walked, went step by step". The root in all probability existed in Proto-Semitic."*ד ר ג , D R G".
Note:
- English "grade" comes perhaps from Latin , but that is not quite certain, as its sisters can to be found in many , also much older, European languages . Such words have as well a wide range of derived meanings, mostly figurative.
Note:
- Proto-Germanic. As remarked before, "grade" comes perhaps from Latin , following the common opinion. Yet that is not quite certain, as its sisters can to be found in many , also much older, European languages . Such words have as well a wide range of derived meanings, mostly figurative. Old Norse "graða", different from Old English "grād", is not limited to the meaning "step, grade" and possible figurative derivations, but also says : "ledge, border, edge, ridge", all places where we "step up". These meanings were not part of the realm of Latin "gradus = step, grade", that is related to the verb "gradior = to stride (along), step". The wider field of messages for Old Norse is an indication of an independent origin, separate from Latin "gradus". But striking is then that the same metathesis is seen in Latin and Germanic or in Indo-European. Anyhow as things stand we have a narrow basis to make a hypothesis for Proto-Germanic as "*G R Ā D-".
But, in Germanic there are also similar roots. The first one has a hypothesis of "*grit-" for Proto-Germanic. This has a solid basis in Gothic "griÞs, acc. "grid" for "step, pace" and Middle High German "grit" with the same meaning. The change from "D" into "T" occurs frequently in Germanic tongues. The use of " I " instead of " A " may indicate an emphasizing of the action. Proto-Germanic "*GR Ī T-" is possible, but it may rather have been "*GR Ī D-".
The second one, with the meaning of "to stride", has a prefix "S" in front of "GH R D", as in Dutch "schrijden". This is preceded by Old Saxon "skrīdan", Old English "scrīdan = " and Old Norse "skriða" all with the same message and other related ones. But the probable Proto-Germanic form "*SKR Ī D- does not seem to carry the meaning of "step, grade".
Note:
- Indo-European.
Latin "gradus" says "step" in the sense of "pace" as well as "grade", litterally and figuratively.
Avestan in "aiwi-gĕrĕdhmahi" uses a related root for the meaning of "we begin", like in Latin "ingredimur". This may be considered a specialization of the use of the root.
Old Indian supposedly does the same, if indeed "adhigicya = beginning (pp)" has developed out of "*adhi-grdhya".
Baltic has a hypothesis of "*grid-", which finds support in Lithanian "grėdiju = to step, wander".
Slavic with a hypothesis "grēdō" is based on identical Old Church Slavonic, that means "to come". In older times the concepts of "coming" and "going" could be expressed by one and the same root.
Indo-European in all probablity used the root "G R D" and the use of the vowel "A" can be hypothesized: "*GR Ā D-", though various forms may have used vowels " I " or " E ".
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| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 15/10/2012 at 16.10.48 |
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