E 0180          COAL

The word " coal " is of Germanic origin .

H 0353            ל ח ג

Concept of root : carbonfire

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ל ח ג;

ל ת ח ג

-

ה ל ק;

gaghal;

gaghelet;

-

qalà

to burn, burning coal;

carbon, burning coal, embers;

to burn up

Related English words

coal

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ל ח ג;

-

-

ל ת ח ג;

-

-

-

-

ה ל ק

gaghal;

-

-

gaghelet;

-

-

-

-

qalà

to burn, burning coal;

burning coal, carbon, embers;

to burn, burn up

g . gh . l;

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

q . l .

Old English

col

coal

c . l

English

coal

coal

c . l

Russian

уголь;

-

зола

ugolj;

-

zolà

coal, charcoal;

embers, ash

. g . lj;

-

z . l .

Dutch

kool;

-

kachel

kool;

-

kaghel

carbon, coal;

stove

k . l ;

-

k . gh l

German

Kohle; Kachel;

Kachelofen

kole;

kaghel; kaghelofen

coal;

tile;

tiled stove

k . l ;

k . gh . l

 

 

Proto-Semitic *GAGHAL, *QALÀ --- *KŌL Indo-European

 

 

We see a similarity, especially on the basis of the Dutch word "kachel". In the Germanic words for "carbon" we lack the middle consonant, though the dubbel vowel in English and the Irish word "gual" give an little opening in that sense. We should perhaps look better into German.

 

Note:
  • German and Dutch. We see that particular different meaning for German "kachel" = "tile" instead of "stove ". And we observe that in Eastern Germany as well as in the Slavic countries, big tiled stoves were built, also big enough to sleep on top of them to stay warm. The sequence that is accepted is :

     

    Middle German "kachel" < Old German "chachala"= large earthen pot < Vulgar Latin "*caccalus" = tile, cooking pot < Latin "caccabus" = tile, cooking pot < Greek "kakkabos" = kettle on three feet. This merits more than a question mark .

     

    It rather seems that a certain confusion between tiles and heated vessels goes most of the way through. We see in Middle Dutch the word "kachel" also used both for the vessel ( probably out of earthenware ) and for , specifically , tiles to cover this vessel. Meanwhile it is known that a Dutch word "kachel" with its actual meaning of "stove" has been loaned around the year 1100 from Dutch into the dialect of the region around Berlin. As in Holland no tiled stoves were built at all, the probability is that the Dutch word "kachel" simply is an old one, related to Hebrew. As to the meaning of "tile" for Latin "caccabus", we have not seen any evidence, though we can imagine that the word for "cooking vessel" has been used sometimes for a flat earthenware plate that was used for cooking ends as well.

     

    Our conclusion is that probably the meaning "tile" for German "Kachel" has been derived from the use of tiles to cover and make more beautiful and comfortable those enormous stoves of brickwork that were the centre of Eastern European houses.

 

Note:
  • Hebrew. Sometimes this old word "gaghal", also "géghal", is defined as derived from "gaghélet" with the same meaning. But it seems instead obvious that these three nouns are all based on an original root "G.GH.L" .

     

    There is another Hebrew root, that may be related to "coal", in the verb : "ק ל ה, qalà = to burn, burn up" and also a typical activity as "to roast", besides "to parch". This root is seen in entry E 0137 (Hebrew 0754).

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. This root has cognates in some Semitic languages, as in Yemenite "jaihal = wood burning under a boiler ", Arabic "jaghama = he set on fire", Arabic "jaghima = it burned", all with an initial "J" that corresponds with the initial "G" in Hebrew. One sees here in Semitic languages very interesting developments that are comparable with those in Germanic, where indeed and for example English has changed many "G"'s into "Y".

     

    It then be noted that in Post Biblical Hebrew a word "ג ח מ ו ן, gaghamon = incendiary" is found , with an "M" instead of "L" as third consonant. This is related to the just mentioned Arabic "jaghama = he set on fire". It is not related, as some think, to the Hebrew word "ג מ ח ו ן, gamaghon = stubborn, capricious". The complication is that for this meaning Modern Hebrew has used the root "G GH M" in "ג ח מ ן, gaghaman = capricious" . "Proto-Semitic may have had a root "*ג ח ל , G GH L " besides "*ג ח מ , G GH M", quite with different messages.

     

    The root "ק ל ה, qalà = to burn" has sisters in Aramaic, Syriac, Arabic, Ethiopian and Akkadian" and probably Proto-Semitic had "*ק ל ה, Q L + accentuated vowel".
Note:
  • Germanic and Semitic. In Amharic there is a verb "gala = to glow", indicating the typical situation of burning coal. Besides this Akkadian had "gughlu= shining precious stone". These words seem clearly related to the Germanic words of this entry .

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. For the word "coal", all Germanic languages have "K O L" or "C O L", with only Old Frisian and English spelling the "O" as "OA". Proto-Germanic probably had "*K Ō L", with a longer "O".

 

Note:
  • Russian. In the word "ugolj", present in the table, we see an initial "U". This "U" is a common confirming or emphasizing prefix in composed verbs. But here we have a noun. The choice of Russian speakers may have been defined by the fact that "golj" has important other meanings like "nudity, poverty", also in extreme definitions. But also "ugol" without final "J" has a different message, that is "angle, corner". "Ugolj" for " charcoal, coal" is certainly related to English "coal".

     

    In the word "zolà" the initial "Z" corresponds with "G" or perhaps "K", as is frequent in Slavic. It indicates "coal" after the influence of fire.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. For a root with K GH L", directly comparable with Hebrew "G GH L", there is too little solid information for a hypothesis. A form "K Ō L-" , with the meaning of "charcoal", and perhaps later also "(stone-)coal" is probable for Indo-European. Some further information is available.

     

    Celtic has a hypothesis of "*goulo-", supported by an Old- and Middle Irish "gūal", meaning "charcoal, coal".

     

    Old Indian, comparable with Hebrew "qalà", has "jvala = flame", with a large range of related verbs and nouns. An example is "jvalaná- = combustible".

     

     

     

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 19/10/2012 at 11.55.59