E 0579          MELLOW

The word " mellow " is of Germanic origin.

H 0589            ץ ל מ *

Concept of root : to sweeten

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ץ ל מ *

malats

to sweeten

Related English words

mellow

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ץ ל מ *

malats

to sweeten

*m . l . ts

Greek

μελι;

méli

honey

m . l .

Latin

mel;

mellacia;

-

melleus;

mellinia

mel;

mellakia;

-

melleus;

mellinia

honey;

densified must;

sweet;

sweetness

m . l

m . ll .

-

m . ll .

m . ll .

Old English

milisc, mylsc

sweet, mild, mulled

m . l . sc

English

mellow

m . ll .

 

 

Hebrew *MALATS < MALATS Proto-Semitic --- *MĒL Indo-European

 

 

This Hebrew verb was out of use already in Biblical times. But a word " נ מ ל צ ו , nimeletsu = they are sweet" was still found, in Psalm 119.103, with also a specific reference to honey. This is a passive form and shows us that the active form "malats" meant "to sweeten".

 

The root "M . L" has carried a message of "sweetness", and this may well be related with that other message of "softness" we see in entry E 0595 (Hebrew 0586). The figurative meanings of both come very near in all languages, like do English soft and sweet. Being related in this case means "having a common origin "M . L"".

 

As hard as it may be to tell which came first, the chicken or the egg, perhaps as difficult it is to say which came first between the meaning "sweet" and the meaning "honey" for the root "M . L". If actually "sweet" has some relationship with "soft", the message of "sweetness" may have come first and honey was called "the sweet one". This would be in line with the fact that already the Romans used the root "M . L" for other products they had and that had nothing to do with honey.

 

Naturally for many centuries honey has dominated the international market of sweetness and sweet products and thus has become in both Greek and Latin a basic word for litteral and figurative sweetness. And the word "meli-" in Greek is found as a component in a great number of words meaning something that is litterally or figuratively sweet. Anyhow, the domination of the "sweet" market by honey may as well have meant that the concept of "honey" has given birth to that of "sweetness".

 

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. We lack evidence with the specific meaning of from other languages that would allow a hypothesis for a Proto-Semitic root. Yet the word in Psalm 119:103 must have its origin probably in Proto-Semitic, that we use in our comparison for that reason.

 

Note:
  • Greek and Latin. Typical fruits like apples and melons, in Greek and Latin are based on the same root "M . L". Apples in the Mediterranean region were much sweeter than those from the North, and the Big Apple (not New York) or Melon was among the sweetest. Would they have been named after "honey" or after their sweetness? Is it thinkable that sweet tastes were unknown before Man used honey? Or has an older word for sweetness disappeared from Greek when honey became dominant?

 

Note:
  • Latin and Greek. Latin has maintained its word "dulcis" that has continued in Italin "dolce" and French "doux". And also Greek has its "γλυκυς , glüküs" for "sweet" , from which it has derived "γλευκος , gleukos" that is sweet grape-juice or must. It is nice to read how scholars of Latin suppose that their word "dulcis" has derived from "*glucis" like Greek" glüküs", whereas scholars of Greek suppose that their "glüküs" has derived from a hypothetical "*dlüküs". Really, both suppositions are baseless, but are born from the conviction that the common origin of Greek and Latin has to show in these words.

 

Note:
  • English this time helps us out. The word "mellow" is instructive as to the reflections made above. It says "sweet, soft, juicy and full-flavored" and is said of fruit. The other meanings "mellow" is used for are derived or figurative ones. And it is not based on the sweetness of "honey" but on that of ripe fruit. Also the verb "to mellow" seems to be based on the same concept of "becoming sweet" as happens when fruit ripens.

     

    Some scholars bring "mellow" together with the root of "mill" and "meal (flour)", but this is baseless as the concept of sweetness and milling are too wide apart.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic . We have a rather narrow basis for a valid hypothesis for Proto-Germanic. True, Old English with another word, the composed "milscapuldor = sweet appletree", confirms the meaning "sweet" for a root "M (I) LS". The meaning of "apple" is already present in the second part "apuldor". There are more versions of this Old English term: "myrisc, myrisc, merisc". From this it becomes clear that the final consonant couple "SC" is part of the root. And another interesting point is that Old English has "M L SC" to be compared with Hebrew "M L TS". Thus Proto-Germanic may indeed have had "*M L SC", but we have no certainty about this. It is as well possible that the "SC" was a suffix in "milsc", leaving as basic unit the little group "*M E L-", that just in Old English became "M I L".

 

Note:
  • Indo-European .

     

    Hittite "milit- = honey" and "maliddu- = sweet", and this is an indication that the meaning "honey" came first and that of "sweet" later.

     

    Armenian "mełr, gen. mełu = honey".

     

    Celtic has Old Irish "mil" and Cymric, Cornish and Breton "mel" to say "honey".

     

    Albanian for "honey" says "mjal.

     

     

    Indo-European probably used "*M E L-" for "honey" and in a number of cases extended the use of this unit to "sweet, sweeten".

 

 

 

 
"...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: 07/11/2012 at 17.55.38