E 0023          ALL, WHOLE

The words " all " and " whole " are of Germanic origin .

H 0485            ל כ

Concept of root : whole and all

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ל כ

kol

all ; whole

Related English words

whole, all

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ל כ

kol

all ;

whole

k . l

Greek

όλος

holos

all;

whole

h . l

English

all ;

whole

all ;

whole

(a) l

wh . l

Dutch

heel;

al

hél,

al

whole;

all

h . l

(a) l

Old Slavic

cělǔ

whole

c l .

Russian

целый

tsyèlәy

whole

ts l

 

 

Proto-Semitic *KOL --- *ĂL-, *HĒL- Proto-Germanic

 

 

The Hebrew K in the words for "whole" corresponds with the Germanic H that has become in English WH. The bridge between the two is in this case found in Old Slavic. The Russian word is a natural development from Old Slavic.

 

One recalls the widely accepted idea that a Germanic initial " H " corresponds with a Latin "C = K ", which is though true only in a limited number of cases. There is no rule at all. See our chapter regarding the Myth of Hundred (The Myth of Hundred).

 

Russian uses another word for "all" : "весь, wyèsh" .An interesting aspect is that this different root carries both meanings of "whole" and "all", comparable with the Hebrew use of "KOL".

 

As to the English word "all", that has its sisters in all Germanic tongues, the question rises if these are also related to Hebrew, as they lack the K. An etymology has not been established. We think there can be little doubt about the fact that "all" is directly related to "whole", if we look at the composed word "alone". This word becomes clearer when compared with its German and Dutch sisters, "allein" and "alleen". The composition is of "all" and "one" and in this case "all" stands for "whole" : entirely one. Consequently "all" and "whole" have a common origin with the Hebrew word "kol".

 

The use of the vowel O is seen in Greek and Hebrew, but also in West-Flemish "olla" that stands for "all". A final answer on the question why "all" has no initial consonant seems hard to find. Anyhow we do not believe that is has been derived from a word for "to grow", as some scholars suppose.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. This brief root is present as such or in extended form "K L L" in various Semitic languages. Aramaic is identical to Hebrew : "כ ל , kol". Ugaritic uses the same root and Arabic has "kull". OS Arabic has "כ ל , K L". Akkadian used "kulla-" in composed words. The root was probably used in Proto-Semitic "* כ ל , K L", with a pronunciation kol.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. . The word "all" or "al" is found in about all Germanic languages, though Old English "eal" indicates a possible older "oll", which is anyhow the modern pronunciation. For Old Flemish we also see a vowel "O" in "olla", but this is to be seen as a dialectal development. Words for "whole" like German "heil" and Dutch "heel, heil", are used to indicate, besides "whole" also the different concept of "healthy, undamaged". In this sense we find also words with a vowel "A", as Gothic "hails", Old English "hāl" and "English "hale". The probable Proto-Germanic root remains "*A L" for the meaning "all", with "*H Ē L-" for the meaning "whole".

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 29/10/2012 at 13.10.36