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E 0723 RESIN
The word " resin " is, via
Old French, of Latin origin .
H 1022 י ר
צ
Concept of root : resin
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Hebrew word
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pronunciation
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English meanings
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י ר צ
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tserė
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resin
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Related English words
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resin,
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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י ר צ
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tserė
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resin
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ts . r (i)
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Greek
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ρητίνη
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rčtinč
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resin
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r . t (i) (n)
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Modern Greek
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ρετσίνι;
ρετσίνα
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retsėni
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retsėna
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resin ;
resinated wine
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r . ts (i) (n)
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Latin
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rasis;
resina
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resina
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resin
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r . s (i) ;
r . s (i) (n)
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Proto-Semitic *TSERAW --- RETSINI Modern Greek < *RÈT-INÈ Greek
With such an identical meaning between Greek and Hebrew words that have the same sounds in just a different sequence, the observer may start thinking about a metathesis. The sound R is anyhow often subject that phenomenon, the changing of place with another sound. Some Greek and Latin words in this entry have an N that is not to be considered as part of the root. Therefore it is placed between brackets.
Important is to constate the alternation between S, TS and T . This kind of change is caused in speaking, by accentuation or seeking pleasure in pronunciation without the change of meanings.
Note:
- Hebrew. The root of this word "tserė" indicates all kinds of resins. It can stand for the ancient "balsam" and "myrrh", that were so highly appreciated in the Near East.
Note:
- Proto-Semitic . This root is present in Syriac, in an older version with a word " צ ר ו א, tsarew'ā = spice" and as well in OS Arabic " צ ר ו , TS R W" ( spice, resin, balsam?), with a cognate in Arabic "dharw = balsam". It may have existed in Proto-Semitic as "* צ ר ו , TS R W". For the comparison the vowels "E" and "A" have been used, that may have been present in Proto-Semitic.
Note:
- Greek and Latin. There is no doubt about the fact of kinship between the above mentioned words of both languages. But, presuming that anyhow one leant the word from the other, there is disagreement about which came first. The Greeks say that Latin "resina" perhaps gave modern Greek "retsėni " and the others say that Latin "resina" came from a little undocumented Greek word "ρασις , rasis" , that indicated precisely the pine resin that Greeks since old times put into the wine during its preparation.
The problem has an old origin. Already in very ancient times, unknown when exactly, somebody who studied the problem of the conservation of wine, has tried to add during the fermentation , clumps of dried resin from those beautiful pinetrees that were and are so abundant both in Greece and in southern Italy ( that was also inhabited by Greeks ).
The result is a special wine that has been very popular throughout the centuries. Regretfully the market has been taken over by wines that are prepared with chemical means instead of natural pine-resin. The result is wrongly called retsina, and it is poor and artificial in taste. It is offered to the tourists as a great Greek specialty, often at too high prices. And the real tradition is rapidly disappearing now.
Anyhow tourists who drink today’s "specialty ", rarily are conquered by the non-existant charm of this modern chemistry. Those who know the genuine product have great trouble in finding it.
Note:
- Germanic. There are two questions to look into.
In English there are two versions: "resin, rosin". In Middle English one sees "resyn, recyn, rosyn" and Medieval Latin used "rosīna", said of unknown origin. Then English had versions like "rosil (15th century c.e.) "and "roset (16th century c.e.). The indication is that "rosyn" is of mixed origin: Latin "resina" and local "rosil, roset". It remains uncertain if that local source was Germanic, Celtic or even an older "substrate" language. "Roset" had an Anglo-Latin version "rosetum", but in Latin that word has quite a different mening : "rosary".
Middle Dutch for "resin" harst, harse, herse, hars". Sister words are German "Harz", coming already from Old High German "harz" and Old Saxon "hart". Pine resin was certainly well known in most of Europe. Swedish has "harts" and sister words are present in the other Nordic tongues, also composed like Danish "harpiks" ( resin-pitch ).
Proto-Germanic probably had "*H A R TS-" This gives it " R TS" in common with Greek and in metathesis with Hebrew "TS e R i".
Note:
- Indo-European. One of the odd things is that we see the "R . TS" in modern Greek, but non in Classic. Scholars of Greek and Latin presume that the words for resin are from a non Indo-European source, that might be a substrate language. This remains uncertain, but a similarity in metathesis remains. One might think of a "*R Ŏ TS-" as well as "*H Ă RTS" in the territory where Proto-Germanic was spoken. But our comparison for now has to remain between Semitic and Greek.
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| Created: Tuesday 6 November 2007 at 22.30.54 Updated: 04/01/2013 at 16.52.23 |
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