GD 1105          SPIJS         

H 0855              א פ ס *

Concept of root : feeding

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

א פ ס *

saphà

to feed

Related English words

none

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

 א פ ס *

saphà

to feed

s . ph

German

Speise

sp(ei)se

food

s p . s

Dutch

spijs

sp(ei)s

food

s p . s

 

 

Proto-Semitic *SAP'À --- *SPĪ-S- Proto-Germanic

 

 

This Hebrew root has been deduced from the existence of the noun " מ ס פ ו א , mispo’à , food". Literally "mispo’à" stands for "that what is fed" or "food", "fodder". And the root, " ס פ א" can only carry the message of "to feed". In fact, our hypothetical root is neatly found in Aramaic.

 

Many scholars are certain that the Germanic words of this entry have been derived from Latin, from the verb "expendere". This word lives on in English "to spend", and that is the meaning the story is built on. In monasteries , in medieval Latin, the word "spensa" for "expenditure", would also have been used to say "nourishment". The ordinary people would have heard this word from the monks, and subsequently would have decided to use it for their own food, after having eliminated the N from it. Well, anything goes it seems.

 

We think it more probable that the word "Speise", Old High German "spisa" is an old word, that shares its meaning with an old Semitic root. Only difference that the Germanic speakers have added an S at the end as they liked to do so much for more effective expressing and speaking.

 

Obviously also food is subject to the action of Latin "expendere". From "dispendere" there is still the Italian word "dispensa", the place where necessary things are kept, among them certainly food.

 

There is as well an indirect proof. German and Dutch use this word as well for "cement mortar", for fluid metal mixtures that are used for casting and for alimentary mixtures as almond-paste. If they would be words from the refectories of monasteries, they would hardly have been used also for such ends.

 

 

Note:
  • Hebrew has also the verbs " " ס פ י" sephì = to give to eat" and " " ס פ ת" saphat = he gave to eat".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic. This root is found in Aramaic "ס פ א , seph'à = he gave to eat, fed". Ugaritic used the same two consonant root for "to eat". This root may well have been in use in Proto-Semitic "*ס פ , S P + accentuated vowel".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic. German and Dutch share this root with the Nordic languages. These also use verbs with the same root to express "to eat" or causative "to make eat". Proto-Germanic probably had the form "*SP Ī S-.

 

Note:
  • Indo-European. No indications for cognates in other branches of Indo-European seem available. The comparison remains between Semitic and Germanic.

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 28/11/2012 at 10.09.19