E 1018          WYNN

The Old English word " wynn " is of Germanic origin .

H 0670            ן ו ו נ

Concept of root : worldly pleasure

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ן ו ו נ

niwwun

decadence, moral decline

Related English words

Old English : wynn

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ן ו ו נ

niwwun

decadence, moral decline

n w(u) n

Old English

wynn

intense pleasure

w(y) n

German

Wonne

wonne

intense sweet pleasure

w(o) n

Middle High German

wunne

wunne

intense sweet pleasure

w(u) n

Middle Dutch

wonne

wonne

worldly pleasure

w(o) n

 

 

Proto-Semitic *NIWWUN < ‛AWON --- *WŪN Proto-Germanic

 

 

This word "niwwùn" is Modern Hebrew, but as it stands it could have existed also in Biblical Hebrew. It is based on the intensive verbal form "niwwèn", that has been shaped on the basis of the old root " נ ו ן , N.W.N" or "N.O.N", that has a sister root in Post Biblical Hebrew in the verb " נ ו ן ה, nonà, N W N H (accentuated vowel)," that means " to degenerate ". In Modern Hebrew there is the form נ ו ן , niwwèn = he caused to degenerate" and the passive of this, נ ו ן , nuwwan = to degenerate", that in older language is expressed with the reflexive form ה ת נ ו ן, hitnawwèn".

 

Worldly pleasure by many is considered near to decadence and moral decline. That is the idea that links these Germanic and Hebrew words. The pleasure that is meant in "Wonne" in German is of intense quality. In Middle Dutch the noun "wonne, wunne, winne" is specifically used for "wordly pleasure, sensual delight". This is the conceptual link between the two similar roots.

 

A common origin with the Germanic words of this entry is only possible if the initial consonant " N " in Hebrew is here, as so often, a confirming prefix. Some evidence for this can be found in the Hebrew root " ע ו ן , Ayin.W.N" or "‛on", also " ע ו ו ן , Ayin W.W.N" or "‛awon" = sin, iniquity, guilt" and " ע ו ו ת , Ayin W.W.T" or "‛iwut" = perversion", related to the verb " ע ו ה , Ayin.W. + accentuated vowel" or "‛awà" = to deviate, sin", with the causative " ה ע ו ה , hé‛éwà" = to pervert , act perversely".

 

With this information a hypothesis of " N " as a confirming prefix is justified, but a further problem exists.

 

The Hebrew nouns have a final " N " that makes them look more similar to German "wonne". And we can not be fully certain that these finals " N " 's are not suffixes in their own right, suffixes for the forming of a noun. But these nouns are so brief, consisting of just a vowel + "N", that this is improbable. So in our comparison we best stick to "Ayin A W O N".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic German has in this word a rather isolated one. In Modern English it is out of use and in Dutch it is rarily heard. There has been no succesful attempt at establishing its etymology. Some have supposed that Old High German "wunn(i)a)", that had the same meaning of today’s "Wonne", might have had another message, that of "desire".

     

    On the basis of that hypothesis the root has been linked to another hypothetical one in Indo-European, "*uen" with a range of meanings, such as "to wander, graze (by), try to get". In this way it is, consciously, being mixed with another Old High German word, "winne", that stood for pasture. We cite this reasoning just for the record, because we do not see any sound foundation for it. Proto-Germanic probably used a form "*W Ū NN-". The comparison stays between Semitic and Germanic.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. We have no information from other Semitic languages, but the formation of the mentioned verbs and nouns, including for example the fact that there were double plurals, like "‛ewonim" and "‛ewonot", together confirm that this is very old language. This reinforces our hypothesis that Proto-Semitic had, like Hebrew, the roots "* נ ו ן , N W N" and "* ע ו ן, Ayin W N".

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 29/12/2012 at 9.34.22