From: backon@vms.huji.ac.il
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: Re: Hebrew origin of some English words
Date: 5 Oct 92 06:49:54 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

In article <1992Oct5.012828.24658@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu>, boaz@concerto.lcs.mit.edu (Boaz Ben-Zvi) writes:
> We all know that Hebrew gave English words like camel, behemoth, leviathan,
> amen, hallelujah, cane, etc.  I have collected some other English words,
> each with a Hebrew word similar to it in sound and meaning. The Webster
> dictionary does not indicate that any of these words does have a Hebrew
> (or Arameic) origin; I wonder what other people think:
>
> 1. loop: ( LIPEF, LIPUF )
>         __  _  __  _ |_
>        |_ | | |_ | |   |
>           | | ___|    /
>           |
>
> 2. obese: ( HE-EVIS, EVUS )
>        ___   _ __   \ |       ___  _ __   \ | __
>        |  | .|   |  |\|       |  | |   |  |\|   |
>        |_/   | __|_ | \   ,   |_/    __|_ | \ | |
>
> 3. question:  ( KUSHIA )
>        __  _ _ _ _  _ ___
>          | | | | | .| , /
>        | |   |/_/   | |
>
> 4. auspice: ( AUSHPEZIN )
>        _  _ ___  __  _ _ _  _ \ |
>         | |  |  |_.| | | | .| |\|
>         |    |  ___| |/_/   | | \
>         |
>
> 5. rush, race :  ( RATZ )
>        _ _ __
>        | |   |
>        |/    |
>        |
>
> 6. crash: ( KARAS )
>        ___  __  ___
>        |  |   | , /
>        |_/    | |
>                 |
>
> 7. fall:  ( NAFAL )
>        |_   __    _
>          | |_ |   |
>         /  ___| __|
>
> 8. bore (i.e., hole):  ( BOR )
>        __  _ ___
>          | |  . |
>          | | ___|_
>
>
> does anyone have some more ?
>
> -- Boaz
>
> ===============================================================================
>   _              _            __         __ ___  _ _   __ ___    ____      ___
>  /_) _  _  __   /_) _   __ __ _/    o     |   |   \| __ |   |     /    \ |   |
> /__)(_)(_|__/  /__)(_'_/ /   /__\/_(        __|_ __\    | __|_     \  __\| __|_
>           __)                                           |
> ===============================================================================
>  Boaz Ben-Zvi <boaz@crl.dec.com>           Home: (617) 494-1279  <boaz@mit.edu>
> ===============================================================================

Some of these and many THOUSANDS of others appear in the book: THE WORD: THE
DICTIONARY THAT REVEALS THE HEBREW SOURCE OF ENGLISH by Isaac Mozeson and
published by Shapolsky Publishers Inc., 135 West 22nd St., New York NY 10011.
The book's ISBN is 0-933503-44-X.

The book has gotten excellent reviews.

"THE WORD is a challenge to linguists. The parallels traced seem beyond the
range of coincidence, and call for a reexamination of our etymologies. Etymon
(truth) must be the quest".
  Dr. Joseph Shipley
  author of THE DICTIONARY OF WORD ORIGINS  and THE ORIGIN OF WORDS


"What I have seen of Mozeson's work suggests a far wider sharing of the world
regarding the monogenesis of language and the primacy of Near East culture."
  Professor Louis Feldman
  Chairman of Classical Language and Literature Departments, Yeshiva University


I had shown the book to my father, an expert in German philology, who had
taught at Yale and Columbia. At first he thought it was pure nonsence until I
convinced him to read it. The third reading convinced him and he actually came
up with two dozen German words which are pure and unadulterated Hebrew.

I suggest that anyone with a *very* good knowledge of Hebrew take the list of
proto-Indo-European roots that appear in the back of the American Heritage
dictionary and look for Hebrew sources. It's uncanny.

Interestingly both Scientific American and The Sciences (of the NY Academy of
Sciences) had review papers on the monogenesis of language in 1991 and this
does strengthen Mozeson's thesis.

I strongly recmmend reading this book which is available in many public and
university libraries.

Josh

Dr. Josh Backon
backon@VMS.HUJI.AC.IL

Disclaimer: Isaac Mozeson and I went to the same yeshiva high school
(Maimonides in  Brookline MA) in the 1960's.








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