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E 0943 TROWEL
The word " trowel " is, via
Old French, of Latin origin .
H 0979 ד ו ר ת
Concept of root : scooping tool
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Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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ד ו ר ת
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tarwad
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ladle
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Related English words
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trowel,
from Latin
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Comparison between European words and
Hebrew
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Languages
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Words
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Pronunciation
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English meanings
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Similarity in roots
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Hebrew
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ד ו ר ת
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tarwad
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ladle
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t . r . w
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Latin
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trua, trulla, truella
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trua, trulla,
truella
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ladle , trowel
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t r (u) .
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English
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trowel
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trowel
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t r (o)w
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Hebrew TARWAD < Proto-Semitic *TAROD --- TRUA Latin < TRŪ- Indo-European
The Romans made no difference in writing between a V and an U. They had good reasons for this, as they observed that the pronunciation of these two , one a consonant and the other a vowel, may interchange according to the position with respect to other sounds. Our chapter about the letter W, with the title " The Willing and Willful W " (Hebrew 0001_0028)gives some comments on this. Also in Hebrew we find the same letter used to indicate a W or a U, and also an O.
Now in this entry we see the W remaining a consonant in the Hebrew word "tarwad", of course requiring a vowel for pronunciation: "-wa-". And in Latin we see it has become a " U ". We note that the difference between V and W is a very relative one. Especially interesting is that in English the Latin U has become "OW", that is a vowel plus consonant. We also note that the difference between O and U, however important, is relative.
The pronunciation of written O’s in many languages can shift to and fro. Swedes in a number of words pronounce the O as U, for example in " BOK ". So do the Dutch, but in that case they add an E to show it : BOEK" English do the same but then write OO : BOOK. The Germans also pronounce U, but write it directly, in "BUCH". They also have changed the final K into KH, spelled CH. That is absolutely the same thing that happens to final K’s in Hebrew pronunciation.
One may remark that a ladle and a trowel are not identical, which is true. But they belong to one family of tools, and also the English word trowel is not used only for the mason’s tool that is flat, but also for a garden trowel that is coop-shaped .
Note:
- Latin and English. The word "trowel" comes from "truella" that is just a diminutive of "trua". There exists as well an original Germanic version of the word, in Dutch " troffel " that keeps company with " truweel " of Latin origin .
Note:
- Proto-Semitic. This word with its two different plurals, "tarwadot" and "tarwadim" is probably old and used in Proto-Semitic. Aramaic and Syriac have "ת ר ו ד א, tarwad'à = spoon, spoonful". The Hebrew word is sometimes considered a loanword from Aramaic, that itself would be of foreign origin. This is possible, but just a guess without specific indications. For the comparison we suppose a pronunciation with a vowel " O " in Proto-Semitic.
Note:
- Indo-European. As cognates have been proposed words meaning "to stir", "to twirl", "basin ( in which to stir)", and then even products that have been treated with compasrable actions, such as cheese, as Greek "türi". None of these seems really convincing.
Then there are words meaning "spoon", which comes somewhat nearer. Indeed Old Indian has "darvī = spoon" that has a mtathesis between " R " and " A ". It may be related to Latin "trua". Indo-European would remain with an initial TR : "*TR Ū-", in fact like Latin.
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| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 11/12/2012 at 16.44.15 |
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