E 0404          GUMA

The Old English words " guma ", brydguma" and " bridegome " are of Germanic origin .

H 0432            ם ח , ה מ ו ח

Concept of root : protecting

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ה מ ו ח

ם ח

ghoma

gham

(protecting) wall;

father in law

Related English words

Old English : bridegome , guma

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ה מ ו ח

-

ם ח

ghoma;

-

gham

(protecting wall);

father in law

gh . m

Old English

bridegome, brydguma; guma

bridegroom;

-

man

g . m

German

Brautigam

brautigam

bridegroom

g m

Dutch

bruidegom

bruidegom

bridegroom

g . m

 

 

Proto-Semitic *GHOM --- *GHOM- Indo-European

 

 

There can be little doubt that the two Hebrew words , that both indicate a factor of protection, are of one and the same root. We suppose that also the Germanic words "bridegroom" and "Brautigam" and "bruidegom" can talk about "he who protects the bride". But this is not the general opinion. Usually these words are said to just mean "bridesman", with the second part standing for "man" . Origin should be an old Germanic word "gumon", in Old English "guma" and related to Latin "homo= man" and "humanus = human".

 

The picture may be complicated. A "humanus" is an "earthling", who works the "fertile earth, the "humus". Humus" can be seen as the soil, that (upper) part of the ground that is worked by "homo" or "man". This is comparable to Hebrew where, in our view, it is the "adam" who works the "adamą = soil" . The Indo-Europeans perhaps have formed a word for "man", "humanus" from that for "fertile earth", "humus". The Jews have formed a word for "fertile earth", "adamą" from that for "man", "Adam". Consequently the Indo-European approach would be that of the man belonging to the soil, whereas the Jews see that soil as belonging to the man who works it and lives on it, be it no more than as a loan from God who trusted Man with it .

 

We also see in Greek a word "χωμα , ghoma ", besides "χαμα, khama" that is akin to Latin "humus" and with exactly the same meaning. And there is no other word like "humanus" or "homo" linked to this "ghoma".

 

With that remains uncertain the origin of Latin "homo", that has led to "humus". It may well be related to Old English and anyhow Gothic "guma". The odd thing is that this Germanic term has gone totally lost, except in the composed words of this entry. But anyhow, if we look at the Germanic version "*gumon", we also see the other cases of "homo", such as "hominis" nearer. The peculiarity remains that "gumon" and "hominis" have a first part, "ho" and "gu", linked to the second part with the consonants "M N", which looks like "MaN. In our chapter "The Mother and where it all came from" we have inserted also "homo". The explanation of this first part or prefix may be just the particular task of a man , protecting the others.

 

 

Note:
  • Hebrew. The "gham" or father-in-law is the father of the husband, the one under whose protection the young bride will be. The combination of two consonants "GH M" is found in more related words, such as, with an extended root, " GH M L" for "to treat with indulgence and compassion", to safe-guard". But there exist also roots with quite different messages. And there is the basic root "GH M" of the entry E 0166 (Hebrew 0431), that talks about warmth and the typically protected spot that is the fireplace .

     

    We note that our word "ghoma" for "protecting wall" is seen as having been derived from a verb "ghamą" that says "to protect". Or "to see" in the sense of "to look after".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. This root is found in Aramaic and Syriac with the common extra final Aleph: "ח ם א, gham'ą= father-in-law". Arabic, OS Arabic and Ethiopian "gham" have the same meaning. There is a cognate in Akkadian, "emu = father-in-law". It probably was used in Proto-Semitic: "*ח ם , GH M" .

 

Note:
  • English "bridegroom" is a changed version of Old English, influenced by the word "groom", that itself is of unknown origin.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic Versions of the word for "bridegroom" are found in Old High German "brútigomo", Middle High German "briutegome", Old English" brydguma", Old Frankish "brúdegomo", Old Saxon "brúdigumo", Old Frisian "breidgoma, Old Norse "brúšgumi" and Middle Dutch "brúdegome > brúdegomo".

     

    Often doubt is expressed about a Proto-Germanic predecessor of "bridegroom", on basis of the fact that Gothic used a different second part to indicate the same concept, in : "brúŽfaŽs, or approximately "brúdfads". This second word was based on a Germanic root "*fadi =ruler", related to Greek "posis = husband". The fact that East Germanic has used a different second word for the composition does not mean that the root from West- and North-Germanic may not have been present in Proto-Germanic. So we opt for a Proto-Germanic word "*brudegom-".

 

Note:
  • Kinship between European and Hebrew can be seen in this entry only if the Old English and Old Germanic words carry a concept of protection. We have seen an different reasoning that goes as follows: An old Indo-European word "*(dh)ghm-on" meant "earthling". This has become "*dhghom-" and led to "khthon" in Greek, a word that indeed stands for "earth". And that same "*dhghm", via "*dhghom-o-" gave Latin "humus", but also via "*dhghom-on" it became "homo", also in Latin. Finally, via "*(dh)ghem-ya" it also became Russian "zemlya"for "land", as in "Novaya Zemlya". It is all very impressive, but even more uncertain, or even rather doubtful.

     

    We have not much proof either of the other supposition, which is ours. Thinking of the characteristics of a man with relation to other members of a tribe, protection is a prevalent one in everyday life. The man may be the one who gives protection. In the Semitic environment of old days, the father-in-law has a very characteristic man's role.

     

    Bride. It is important to come back on the meaning of the first part of the Germanic word, in Old English "bryd". The meaning of German "Braut" and Dutch "bruid" as "woman that is about to marry", or even "marrying woman" is relatively modern. The original meaning was that of any young woman, mostly but not necessarily in a specific relation with a man, like a concubine or a betrothed. In Gothic a "brūÞ" is also a "daughter-in-law". It would not be uncommon for the man of such a young woman to be seen as having a protecting role. This is still today the case with prostitutes.

     

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. Sister words or cognates of "bridegroom" are not to be found in Indo-European. They are limited to Germanic. But they are composed words, of two elements. And the last part, as in the Old English word "brydguma", is of old origin common with other Indo-European tongues. If the "bridegroom" is the "bride-protector", we see a similarity with Semitic. And Proto-Germanic would anyhow be "*gom-" or perhaps "*gum-".

     

    If the "bridegroom" is just a "bridesman", the use of "brydeguma" instead was rather senseless in the old ages when a "bryd" was about any young woman. See the previous Note.

     

    If the "-guma" in Old English is just a "man" without any specific protecting role, it may indeed as is generally believed, be related to Latin "homō = man", that comes from Old Latin "hemō = man". This is recognized again in the word "nēmō" out of earlier *nehemo = nobody". One may remark that this old word has no visible relation with Latin "humus = earth". A "homō" is not an "earthling". It must be remarked that there is some debate about the relation between Latin words "homo, hominis" and "humanus = human" in many senses. The "-nus" or "-us" is a suffix". The change from the "O" of the noun "homo" into the "U" of the adjective has no explanation in a more general rule, but is anyhow a specific fact as there are so many in languages. One also notes Oscan "humuns = men".

     

    Baltic has a hypothesis of "*zjmō", gen. "*zjmun-es", in which an initial G" has changed into "ZJ" and a metathesis between "O" and "M" occurred. This finds support in Old Lithuanian "zjmuô". acc. "zjmùni".

     

    With the available information a hypothesis for Indo-European "*GH O/U M- " can be made.

 

 

 

 
"...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: 26/10/2012 at 17.38.45