GD 1101          SLAGEN

H 1013               ח ל צ                  

Concept of root :  successful action

 Hebrew word

pronunciation

English meanings

ח ל צ

tsalagh

to succeed (in doing )

Related English words

none

Comparison between European words and Hebrew

Languages

Words

Pronunciation

English meanings

Similarity in roots

Hebrew

ח ל צ

tsalagh

to succeed

ts . l . gh

Middle Dutch

slaghen

slaghen

to succeed, have success

s . l . gh

Dutch

slagen

slaghen

to succeed, have success

s . l . gh

 

 

Proto-Semitic *TSALAGH" --- *SLAG-EN Dutch

 

 

The situation we encounter with this entry is more complicated then the clear similarity between Hebrew and Dutch would suggest. In fact the specific meaning of "success in action" we can find expressed by the root " S L . G" only in Dutch among the Germanic languages. Among the sister-languages we find in German "schlagen, shlagen" with the meanings of " to hit, beat, kill" , for which Dutch uses the verb "slaan". This verb has very many consequential, metaphorical and figurative meanings. For Middle Dutch "slaghen" 60 have been counted ! But among all those there is not "to succeed" or the like. If the words "slagen" and "slaan" would have been of the same origin, the meaning of succesful action would probably have been absorbed also by "slaan " that would be an abbreviated version.

 

The question is thus if the clear distinction between the two verbs and their messages as found in Dutch can be basic and original. Then we would have no problem in confirming that only Dutch , once more, shares the relative root for "to act succesfully" with Hebrew. In fact we see the brief version with the meaning of the group " beat, hit, slay " in Old English "slēan". Old Norse and Old Frisian had "slā", Old Frankish "slān" . But then in Gothic and Old High German we see "slahan", that has led to "schlagen" in modern German. And also the past tense and past participle in Dutch again have GH, in "sloeg" and "geslagen". The same is seen in Swedish with "slå, slog, slagit". Undoubtedly the G is part of the actual root in a number of verbal forms. Now German scholars tell us that this G is a later development, confirmed in modern High German.

 

The consequence of this thesis would be that Germanic about a couple of thousand years ago has begun to insert an H into the root of the verb "slaen" , extending it. During this process the H has become a G, but not always and not in all forms. Especially not consequently in some forms where the necessity was not felt, like sometimes the infinitive and the present tense. Only in modern High German, under influence of the new infinitive, also the present tense received a G . This is confirmed in Old English "slēan, slōh, slægen". All this teaches us that indeed the similarity between Hebrew and Dutch, between words with the same meaning, is totally independent from the group of words to which belongs English " to slay".

 

We know that there are many examples of the phenomenon that a similarity with Hebrew is limited to Dutch, without known cognates in other Germanic languages.

 

 

Note:
  • Hebrew. Particular about this root is that both the basic form "tsalagh" and the causative form " ה צ ל י ח " , hitsliagh, already in the Bible, carried the message of "to be succesful". But the basic form also meant, and perhaps had as its point of departure "to be able, efficacious, adapt, strong" and the causative form also had that really causative meaning " to make succeed, to make have success". In modern Hebrew "to be succesful (in action)" has as good as eliminated the other meanings.

 

Note:
  • Proto-Semitic . This root is seen in Aramaic and Syriac " צ ל ח , tselagh = he succeeded, prospered". It has cognates indicating the concept of "prosperity" in Arabic "tsalagha; tsulgh = he was in good condition; prosperity". It was probably in use in Proto-Semitic "* צ ל ח , TS L GH".

 

Note:
  • Proto-Germanic . For Dutch on its own the hypothesis of Proto-Germanic is heavy, but the similarity in sound and meaning is there. Loaning from Hebrew is out the question in this case. We hesitate in giving an answer. Naturally it has been tried to explain the Dutch verb "slagen"= "to succeed" with a semantic sequence like "to hit, hit the goal, be successful", but one may remain sceptical about this. The verb "slaen" was never used in this sense and why would that happen in a version not used for any of the sixty existing other meanings ?

 

 

 

 

 
Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 14/12/2012 at 12.18.19