E 0678          PERID

The Old Saxon word " perid " is of Germanic origin .

H 0710            ד ר פ

Concept of root : tamed equine

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ד ר פ

pered

mule

Related English words

Old Saxon : perid

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ד ר פ

pered

mule

p . r . d

Akkadian

perdum

perdum

equine

p . r . d

Latin

burdus;

veredus

burdus;

veredus

mule;

horse

b . r . d;

v . r . d

German

Pferd <

peerd

pferd <

peerd

horse

pf . r . d<

p . r . d

Dutch

paard, peerd

paard,

pérd

horse

p . r . d

Middle Dutch

peert, paert, pert, part

pért, paart, pèrt, part

horse

p . r . t

Old Saxon

perid

perid

horse

p . r . d

 

 

Hebrew PERED < Proto-Semitic --- *PĒRD" --- Indo-European

 

 

Equines were wild animals and they have been tamed. A wild ass, like the onager, in Hebrew was called an " פ ר א , per’é ", see entry E 0330 (Hebrew 0704). A tamed equine like a mule had a dental D added to this, becoming a "*parad" or pered". In plural this word became "pĕradim". This may well mean that this third consonant , a dental D, was used to diversify the meaning. This same final dental now is found in some Germanic languages, specifically German and Dutch, but also already in Old Saxon, in a word that seems not to have been brought into English . The diversification in Semitic may well have been established in a second time , between already existing versions with or without final dental.

 

This similarity at first sight is clear and simple. But the common view is quite different as to the origin of the German and Dutch words of this entry. It is thought that they would have been shaped in a number of steps from a 6th century Latin word "paraveredus", that was a kind of spare mail-horse. Argument is that in Old High German there was a word "pferfrit". This would be a very surprising development. We just imagine 6th century Europe, a place really full of horses. Not one out of each thousand was a "paraveredus", and probably even far less. However the Germanic speakers would get the idea of applying this odd name to all their horses with all their different functions and tasks ? We prefer to presume that this is just one of those invented legends we find in etymology, a succesful and gladly accepted phantasy that is hard to die.

 

We rather see first of all the similarity in the group of words of this entry. Latin "veredus", even if it would have been loaned from the Celts, fits in rather nicely with the others. There is no indication at all about how a gallo-latin word "paraveredus", supposedly and amazingly composed of Greek "para" and Celtic "veredus" has disappeared from French and travelled exclusively towards Germany and Holland. Besides, there is no alternative general name for horses in these two languages. Also we see in Middle Dutch words for "horse" even shorter than the modern ones, like "part" and "pert".

 

In fact, in general there are problems with the etymology of words for "horse". This goes for English "horse" and German "Hengst = male horse", about which runs the inventive story that its meaning changed from "gelding" into"stallion". But als for Latin "equus" and Greek "hippos" that are placed together on the basis of the fact that people in Tarente, southern Italy, living among Greek and Italic speakers, seem to have spoken of "ikkos" for "horse". Is it not more probable that the Greek-speaking Tarentians would have pronounced the Latin word " ekwus " as " ikkos " ? Meanwhile we see that modern Greeks call a horse an "αλογο , alogho " or "speechless", from the fact that horses in the army were "speechless soldiers" or "speechless beings".

 

Note:
  • Latin "veredus" was certainly less common than "equus". It was the name for very useful horses such as those used by messengers and by hunters. Typically tamed horses. And the root is the same as in Hebrew. The last part, "-us" is of course a Latin suffix for a noun .

     

    Regarding the well known word "equus", we have seen no similarity with any Hebrew word or root. But it is interesting to know that a related root is found in old Germanic words, such as Old Saxon "ehu" and Old Norse "ehwu".

 

Note:
  • Hebrew. The two-consonant root " P R " for " wild " has also given "pered = mule" and "peresh" that is a riding horse, but also a horserider. The word "pered" has been preceded in the far past by a word "pirdu", of which the last letter was a suffix for the formation of a noun, not unlike Latin "-us" , "-o" and even "-u".

     

    The meaning of the word "mule" and therewith that of "pered" is a very clear and specific one. There is no reason whatsoever to link this word "pered" to concepts like "fleeing" or "running", decidedly not among the principal characteristics of these animals .

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic in all probability had the same root still found in Hebrew : "*פ ר ד , P R D". The vowels , twice " E " in Hebrew, " E " and " A " in Syriac, originally may have been twice " A ", as proposed in our comparison.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. On the basis of the reasons explained in the above text, probably Proto-Germanic had a form "P Ē RD", though this may as well have been "P Ā RD" .

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. On the basis of the similarity between Latin and Proto-Germanic, Indo-European may have had a form "P Ē RD". There is additional but uncertain information for this:

     

    Celtic has a Cymric "gorwydd and a hypothetical but probable Gaulish "*voredus", both with the meaning "horse".

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 25/09/2013 at 11.22.24