E 0858          (TO) SPEW, (TO) SPUE

The verbs " to spew" and "to spue " are of Germanic origin .

H 0931 פך ש

Concept of root : emptying liquid

Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ך פ ש

shaphakh

to empty of liquid

Related English words

to spew, spue ; spit

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ך פ ש

shaphakh

to empty of liquid

sh. ph . kh

Greek

πτυω ;

πυτιζω

ptüo ;

pütizo

to spit ;

to spray, spit

p t (u) <

 *s p t (u) ;

p (u) t  <

*s p t (u)

Latin

spuere

spuere

to spit

s p (u)

English

to spew, spue ;

spit

to spew, spue ;

spit

s p . w ;

s p (w) .

Old English

spīwan

to spew,

s p . w

German

speien;

-

spucken; Speichel

shp(ei)yen ;

-

shpukken; shpeikhel

to spray, spit, vomit;

to spit;

spittle

sh p . (y)

sh p (u) k;

sh p . kh

Dutch

spuien ;

-

-

spuwen, spugen

speeksel

sp(ui)yen;

-

-

spüwen,

spüghen; spéksel

to spew, empty of liquid ;

to spit;

-

spittle

s p (ui) ;

-

-

s p (u) w

s p (u) gh;

sp k

 

 

Proto-Semitic *SHAP(H)AK --- *SPŪ- , *S P Ū- G/K- --- Indo-European

 

 

Quite a few concepts, in many languages, are expressed by roots that have the combination "S P" in them. Diversifying by adding third consonants is essential for the creation of a practical and usable vocabulary. Sometimes we see that various related languages on the same basis, like " S P " , differ in the choice of such third consonants.

 

This entry shows us that for "to empty (of) liquids " English has a W whereas Hebrew has a K, that at the end of the word becomes KH. The Dutch, besides a " W " also has a version with "GH" as a third consonant, less distant from "KH". This goes also for the emptying of liquids, but in the specific case of "spitting". English also expresses this action with "S P ", but uses a T as third consonant. Naturally, it is through such developments that languages become different.

 

We see that the general meaning of the Hebrew root, the emptying of liquids, is conserved very well in Dutch and to a lesser extent in English, whereas all the other languages have limited the use of this root to the concept of "to spit".

 

Note:
  • Hebrew uses this verb for a number of ways to move or to move away liquids, such as " to empty", "to pour ", " to pour out " , " to (make ) flow ", " to shed ", " to spill ". But " to spit " is expressed by a quite different root : " ר ק ק , raqaq" or " י ר ק , yaraq" .

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic . We find this root in Aramaic and Syriac "ש פ ך, shephakh = he poured, emptied out". Syriac then has "ש פ כ א, shephakhà = water pipe, spout". Ugaritic uses the same root for the same meaning. Akkadian "shapaku = to pour out". It was probably used in Proto-Semitic: "ש פ ך , SH P K " or already developing as well a change of pronunciation into "SH PH K".

 

Note:
  • Greek also has conserved some meaning of moving liquid other than spitting, such as spraying and producing saliva. For spitting as such there is also a verb "πυτιζω, pütizo", that has been born out of a metathesis from a form "ptüo". According to Greek scholars the original root began with an S .

 

Note:
  • English uses a root "S P T" also in another sense, regarding the moving of liquids, in the verb "to spout", that has a sister in Dutch "spuiten". Probably this verb was loaned from Middle Dutch "spouten". Old English "spittan" did already use that T as in "to spit", and had "spiwan" for "to spew".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic . The Nordic languages have brief verbs, such as Norwegian "spy" after Old Norse "spyja". In order to establish their origin, we find help in Faroese that says "spyggja", showing thus a guttural like Dutch "spugen" ( besides "spuwen") and "speeksel( Middle Dutch "spekel"), but also German "spucken, Speichel (Old High German "speihhil(a)"). For Dutch it must be remarked that it had, besides "spuwen, spouwen" with the "W", also brief forms as "spien, spijen" that may have developed out of earlier forms with a "G" or "GH-sound". In that period the verb "spoughen" was mainly dialectal, but then has conquered back the territory, making disappear again the abbreviated forms. Presumably Proto-Germanic had "*SP U/O GH-" and in development a second form in which the "GH" was substituted by a "W" as a natural extension of the vowel U that in the process in some cases became a long " Ī ", as in Old English and Gothic. Thus probably as second Proto-Germanic form there was a "*SP U W- ".

 

Note:
  • Indo-European In the Eastern groups of languages we find Old Indian "tsthīvati = to spit (out)", that is very different from Latin. Also Slavic with a hypothesis of "*pljūtī" is rather far off. But Baltic is somewhat nearer.

     

    Baltic has more hypotheses. One is "*sputo-" that sounds identical to Latin "sputo, sputare", that itself is an intensive of "spuere". Others are "*speu-, *spjāw-".

     

     

    Indo-European has hypotheses of "*(s)ptēiw-, *(s)ptyēW-". We tend to consider the consonant " S " as original, as seen for Greek. The consonant " T " has been added later. We see no way to define a common ancester for Latin and Old Indian. The consonant " P " and the sound "U/W" after it are rather generally present in the western groups. Consequently Indo-European had a form "*S P Ū-". There may very well have been a second form with a guttural as third consonant, as recognizable in a.o. Dutch : "*S P Ū- G/K-"

 

 

 

 
"...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: 07/02/2013 at 11.34.11