E 0052          ASPYLIAN

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

H 0856                ל פ ס

Concept of root : rinsing

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ל פ ס

sephel

bowl, basin

Related English words

Old English : aspylian

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ל פ ס

sephel

bowl, basin

s . p . l

Middle Dutch

spoel

spul

water in rinsing -bowl

s p . l

German

spülen

spülen

to rinse

s p . l

Old English

aspylian

to rinse, wash oneself

s p . l

Dutch

spoelen

spulen

to rinse

s p . l

 

 

Proto-Semitic *SAPAL --- *SPÜL- Proto-Germanic

 

 

This comparison is a bit audacious. Rinsing is done, if not in outside waters, in a bowl or basin. Our German, Old English and Dutch verbs have a common origin amongst themselves. But a noun seems not to be known. It seems a far shot, but the old Middle Dutch word "spoel" says "rinsing water". This rinsing water obviously if indicated as an entity is present in some contanier, like a bowl. This word that in fact was used in the Middle Ages, brings us a bit nearer.

 

The more so as it distinguishes itself from the word for the water that has been used already , that is called "spoelinge". Thus we have the same root "S P L" for a basin and for water in a basin. That is not too far to dedicate an entry in our list to it.
Then in Aramaic we find a feminine version of our bowl or basin in "siphlà".

 

Note:
  • Hebrew has suffered a comparable fate. No relatives, with no words looking like it. Then in modern Hebrew "shephel" is the high tide, whereas "shephekh" is "estuary" ( shaphakh = to pour).

     

    Some consider "sephel" a loanword from Akkadian, but that is hard to maintain for words with common meanings between naturally related Semitic languages. The root of this entry is anyhow also found in Aramaic and Arabic.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic is considered as having used the same root we see in this entry for Hebrew "*ס פ ל , S P L". Aramaic has "ס פ ל א, siphl'à = bowl". Akkadian "saplu" and Arabic "sifl" also stand for "bowl".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic . To the words mentioned in the table we may add Old High German "spuolen", Middle Low German "spolen" and Old English "spylian" without initial vowel. Norwegian has "spyle", that is also used to say "to spout". Proto-Germanic probably had "*SP Ü L-.

 

Note:
  • Greek and Germanic have a couple of words for "cup, vessel" that might be related to this actual entry, though those words do not have the third consonant L. Instead they developed the initial S into SK. This is comparable to entry E 0810 (Hebrew 0858), where are found English "ship" and Old English "scip" related to Hebrew "sephina ". The words referred to are Greek "σκυφος , skϋphos", Old High German "scif" or "sciffi" and Middle Dutch "schip", that besides "ship" also mean "cup, bowl, beaker", exactly like modern Hebrew "sephel".

 

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

 

 

 

 
"...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: 28/11/2012 at 10.17.35