E 0457          HOOK

The word " hook " is of Germanic origin .

H 0464            ח ו ח

Concept of root : hook

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ח ו ח

ghoagh

hook

Related English words

hook

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ח ו ח

ghoagh

hook

gh . gh

Old Saxon

hako;

hako;

hōk

hook;

hook, angle

h (a) k;

h (o) k

Middle Dutch

hake; hoec

hake;

huk

hook;

angle, hook

h (a) k;

h (u) k

Old English

hace;

hoc

hake;

hok

hook;

angle, hook

h . k

English

hook

huk

hook

h . k

 

 

Proto-Semitic *GHOKH --- *HŌK- Proto-Germanic

 

 

Hebrew, in front of a final consonant Ghet usually places a vowel "A" for easier pronunciation.So it has done in this word, that is of the same origin as the English one. Each language has its preferences. Thus the word of this entry from "ghogh" changed into "ghoagh".

 

One must further take into consideration that already in older times, the distinction between the pronunciations "GH" and "KH" especially at the end of a word, not always and everywhere was too clear. Therefore, when alphabetic writing had to be established and in case there was no clear help from sister words, people who occupied themselves with the creation of alphabetic spelling, might make different choices . The first Hebrew "GH" in this word is like a strongly blown "H", the second one a blown "K", though it should have been spelled " ך " to confirm this. We further believe that in early times little dialectical or even individual shifts in pronunciations may have caused also differences in the choice of letters by writers.

 

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. This root is found in Aramaic "ח ו ח א , ghoghà = thorn". In Hebrew it also has the related and perhaps more original meaning of " thorn", that is found in Akkadian "ghagh" and "ghaghu" that both mean "thorn" as well. This root may well have been present in Proto-Semitic "*ח ו ח , GH W GH ". We presume a pronunciation "ghokh".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. There is a hypothesis "*GH A N K, *GH Ō N K-" that would bring us very near to Hebrew. But in the known Germanic words as such there is no clear indication in the sense of an initial "GH", as normally we see just an initial "H". A possible predecessor with initial "GH" perhaps may have been prior to Proto-Germanic. Another important factor is that there are both nasalized and non-nasalized versions. The "N" in front of the final "K" is seen in the Nordic languages, mostly as "hank-", sometimes "honk-"

     

    As non-nasalized there are in Germanic languages related words with a vowel "A" and others with a vowel "O". The second group shows besides the meaning of "hook" also that of "corner, angle", especially in older languages. This leads to the hypothesis that the original vowel was indeed in the "O"-group and that the vowel "A" was introduced later in order to diversify in a more specialized message, that of "hook", and perhaps later more in general "means of fixing", like hooks, bolts and rings. In the case of Dutch the word with a vowel "Ū", developed out of "Ō", concentrated its meaning on "angle, corner".

     

    The Germanic words with meanings directly related to English "hook" all have an initial consonant "H". The following vowel is mostly a long "Ā", as in German "Haken" and its predecessors , Norwegian "hake" and its predecessor Old Norse "haka". English "hook" is an exception with its double "O", pronounced "Ū". In the Nordic languages no words are found from the group with "O"-vowels, though Swedish "huk = spit of land, extended point" may be related . The second consonant is nearly always a "K"-sound, but Old Danish and Danish "hage" show a "G" in a specific local development.

     

    Proto-Germanic probably had the form "*H Ō K-" and was already developing "*H Ā K-". It is possible but not quite certain if in this case a nasalization had started already in Proto-Germanic. We find a probably unrelated Middle-Dutch "honc = corner, shelter" and a perhaps related Middle Low German "hank = handle".

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. The information is limited to Germanic and no specific hypothesis can be presented.

 

 

 

 

 
"...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: 28/10/2012 at 12.54.29