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E 0765 SCARSE
The word " scarce " is of
Germanic origin .
H 0457 ר ס ח
Concept of root : lack
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Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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ר ס ח
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ghasar;
ghissèr
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to
lack, to take away;
to
deprive
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Related English words
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scarse
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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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ר ס ח
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ghasar;
-
ghissèr
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to lack, to take away;
to
deprive
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gh . s . r
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Greek
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χαζω
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khazo
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to deprive
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kh . s
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Latin
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carere;
cassus < carsus
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carére;
cassus <
carsus
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to lack ;
deprived of
-
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c . r ;
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English
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scarse
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lacking
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(s)c
. r s
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Middle Dutch
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scars, scaers
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scars,
scaars
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scarce
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(s)c
. r s
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Proto-Semitic *GHASAR --- *KAR-S Proto-Germanic < *KAR- Indo-European
This entry gives problems notwithstanding the identity of meanings, because both Greek and Latin each have only a second consonant against Hebrew three, and those second consonants are both found in the Hebrew root, but are different between them. Finally the Germanic root, found only in English and Dutch , has all three again, not in the same sequence and with an S added at the outset.
Note:
- English "scarce" is seen as having been loaned from Norman French "escars", but further etymology has not been found. Some believe, without much conviction, that scarse comes from a Latin word "excerptus". But that word means "to choose, pick" which is a different concept.
The presence of the sisterword " scars " in Middle Dutch makes a Germanic origin, also for Old French, the stronger guess .
Note:
- Latin "carére" lacks the S from Hebrew, but in general there is something not quite regular. The past participle is in the form of the future : "cariturus". Another word, "cassus", standing for "deprived of" and seen as of the same root, has the S but not the R. We conclude on the probability of an, in itself rather normal in Latin, thinning out of this root.
Note:
- Greek "khazo" is and isolated an rather scarsely found word without any real explanation of its etymology. The "medio-passive" form "khazomai" says "to withdraw oneself, back off". But another verb,
"χατεω , khateo" and its sister "χατιζω , khatizo" stand for "to be in need of, desire". We must conclude that the common origin is quite probable, but that the changes are considerable.
Note:
- Proto-Semitic.
This Hebrew root is also found in Aramaic and Syriac "ח ס ר , ghasar = he lacked".
Ugaritic uses the root to express "to want" and there are related meanings in Arabic "ghasira= he suffered loss" and Ethiopian "ghasara = diminished". It was probably used in Proto-Semitic: "ח ס ר , GH S R ".
One may ask the question if a two consonant combination " GH . R " may lie at the origin of the root "GH S R" of this entry. This three consonant root deals with the concept of "to lack" and "to cause to lack". Then there is a "GH Z R", that is found in the word "ghazir = swine" and is considered meaning basically "withheld, lacking development", but this seems a bit far fetched.
Note:
- Proto-Germanic. The existing theory is based on the Latin verb "excerpo = to take out, pluck out" . The past participle "excerptus" would in medieval Latin have become "scarpsus", with the meaning "plucked out, taken out", which is not the same as "scarse" . This means that there was no reason to loan this word and then use it for such a different concept for which other words certainly existed. The odd thing is then that in Old High German the word "scars" existed with the modern meaning of English "scarse". It is possible that Proto-Germanic had "*SC A RS-".
Note:
- Indo-European. The considerable difference, as it seems due to diverging developments, make it difficult to hypothesize the original Indo-European form. Yet a form "*K Ă R-" is reasonably possible.
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| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 27/10/2012 at 18.07.15 |
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