E 0509          (TO) KNOCK

The verb " to knock " is of Germanic origin .

H 0649          ה כ נ ,   א כ נ

Concept of root : to hit

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

א כ נ ;

כ א נ ;

ה כ ה ;

ה כ ה ;

א כ נ ו

nakh’à;

nikk'à ;

hikkà ;

hukkà ;

nokh'é

to beat, hit ;

to be beaten ;

to beat, hit ;

to be beaten,

hitting

Related English words

to knock, Old English cnocian

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

א כ נ;

א כ נ;

-

ה כ ה ;

ה כ ה ;

-

א כ נ ו

nakh’à;

nikk'à;

-

hikkà;

hukkà;

-

nokh’é;

to hit, beat;

to be beaten;

to hit, beat;

to be beaten;

hitting

n . k .

English

to knock

to knock

kn . ck

Dutch

nokken

nokken

to hit, pound

n . k

Danish

nykke; nyk

nykke; nyk

to hit, bump; hit, bump

n . k

Middle Dutch

nucken

nucken

to hit, pound

n . ck

 

 

Proto-Semitic *NAK'À --- *KNOK- < *NOK- Proto-Germanic

 

 

The words of this entry are related to that of entries E 0506 (Hebrew 0638) and E 0507 (Hebrew 0639), and the related European word "nokken" we give is found in both. We refer to our comments there. This Hebrew root is used for a very wide variety of ways of hitting. The version with the Aleph א, "nakh’à" is found in the passive form, where it says "to be flogged". In the version without Aleph, we find the letter ה (Hé). This letter is not pronounced H, because it simply is not an H. It is used to indicate that an accentuated final vowel is to be pronounced there. The odd thing is that this antique usage has had as a result that in phonetic transcriptions in Latin characters generally the same practice is followed. A Latin H is used, but together with a preceding vowel A, indicating that this A is accentuated. We do not follow that practice and use "à" instead.

 

The verb without Aleph is not found in the basic form, but in passive and intensive versions. This last one, our "nikkè" has all kind of messages of "hitting" : to beat, frantumate, wound, to hit mortally, to cut someone’s throat, but also figuratively "to offend". The passive form of basic "nakhà" with the participle "nokhà" again means just "to be hit", and is very near to Dutch "nokken" .

 

Note:
  • Hebrew shows us related words with non-identical consonants, like from the group of the consonants ק כ ח ג or G, GH, K/KH, Q. Thus we have found in entry E 506 (Hebrew 0638) and E 507 (Hebrew 0639) the roots "nagagh" and "naghaph" , but here in E 509 the roots "nakh’à" and "nakhà".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. This root is found in Aramaic and Syriac " נ כ א, nekh'à = to hurt, harm, injure". Arabic with one step further from that basic hitting that may hurt and injure to the obtaining of such a result, has "naka; nakaya = to hurt, injure; inflicting of injury". The root may well have been present in Proto-Semitic: "* נ כ ה , N K H (accentuated vowel)".

     

    The consonant " K " in Hebrew and Aramaic in basic forms, but not in all forms, is pronounced " KH ". In Arabic the original " K " is basic. The change in pronunciation probably had not begun in Proto-Semitic.

 

Note:
  • Hebrew and Germanic. The Hebrew roots do not have an initial K-sound, and also in Germanic we find a number of words that begin with the "N", as the above mentioned Danish "nykke" and Dutch "nokken". Other Germanic words have an initial "H" instead. It is possible that diversified roots were used in Proto-Germanic already. The older form would be "*N vowel G-" or "*N vowel K-". Then there would come the forms with prefixes, "H" in the north and "K" in West Germanic. It must be remarked that there exist in Germanic many more roots and thus words that indicate "to hit, to bump" or related kinds of action. Old Norse besides "hnöggva" has "hnyggja" and "hnjōda", like Old Swedish "niudha". "Hnippa" says "to hit, stab"."Still Old Norse shows "hnīta = to push, bump", that has its sisters with and without "H", like Old English "hnīta", Old Saxonī"hn?tan" and Middle Dutch "nieten".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. So we find in Germanic languages "KN O K-" , both in Old Norse and Norwegian" knoka", Swedish dialect "knoka ( with O-sound as in "awe")", English "knock", Middle High German "knochen" ( typically with K becoming CH) and Dutch "knokken". Proto-Germanic probably already had "*KN O K-".' But also "*HN O G" and "*N O K-".

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 28/01/2013 at 17.39.09