Semitic and Egyptian Comparisons Author(s): Wolf Leslau Source: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 21, No.

1 (Jan., 1962), pp. 44-49 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/543552 . Accessed: 24/10/2013 05:51
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SEMITIC AND EGYPTIAN COMPARISONS

WOLF LESLAU

HE

existence of a Hamito-Semitic sight. If we consider, however, that in

Hamito-Semitic we operate with some languages documented for nearly 6000 years (Egyptian and some of the Semitic languages) while others (like Berber and Cushitic) are known only for the last 200300 years, we realize the difficult task which awaits the Hamito-Semitist. To demonstrate how a Hamito-Semitic phoneme can change or disappear completely in a given language I shall cite some South Ethiopic words of Semitic origin. The gleichung (Wien, 1936). An excellent sum- Semitist will have some difficulties, if he mary of the morphological features with does not know the continuous phonetic lists of words common to Hamito-Semitic development of the language, in connectarranged according to phonetic corre- ing South Ethiopic in 'stone' or sUt, spondences is given by Marcel Cohen in his 'eight' with any Semitic root. If he Essai comparatif sur le vocabulaire et la knows, however, that the labials and the phonologie du chamito-semitique (Paris, liquids became weakened and disappeared in South Ethiopic he will recognize in in 1947). The present article gives additional the Hebrew eben 'stone' and in sfit the comparisons between Semitic and Egyptian, with a few occasional Cushitic roots. Semitic root for 'eight,' namely Amn/tmn. There is no need to insist on the complexity A still more drastic example is Argobba of etymological work, particularly in a hayu, Gurage eb 'milk.' It would seem a group of languages in which we compare tour de force to connect these two words different stages of their development, as is with the Semitic root hlb 'milk,' but the the case in Egyptian and Semitic. In my relation is quite normal. The laryngeal review on M. Cohen's Essai I stated:3 either became zero (thus eb) or h (thus "Some of the comparisons proposed by hayu); the 1 was prepalatalized in hayu and Cohen might seem improbable at first disappeared in eb; the labial b remained in Gurage, but became u in Argobba hayu. 1 The books and the languages are abbreviated as These few examples are intended to show follows. Books: Calice = F. Calice, Grundlagen der dgyptisch-semitischen Wortvergleichung (Wien, 1936); that many Hamito-Semitic etymologies Cohen = M. Cohen, Essai comparatif sur le vocabulaire would be more plausible if we had all the et la phonologie du chamito-simitique (Paris, 1947); Vycichl = W. Vycichl, "Grundlagen der digyptischlinks in the phonetic developmissing semitischen Wortvergleichung," Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archdologischen Instituts, Abteilung Kairo, ment." In order to avoid pitfalls of that XVI (1958), 367-405. kind I submit here only comparisons that Languages: Akk. = Akkadian, Amh. = Amharic, are reasonably obvious from the phonetic Ar. = Arabic, Eg. = Egyptian, G. = Geez, Hebr. = Hebrew, Sem. = Semitic, Soq. = Soqotri, Te. = and semantic points of view and do not Tigre, Tna. = Tigrinya. 2 For a require any explanation through special bibliography, see Cohen, pp. 3 ff. 3 Language, XXV (1949), 316. phonetic developments. Also, it is not my
44

family is firmly established.' The comparative studies going back to the beginning of the nineteenth century sufficiently prove that Semitic, Egyptian, Cushitic, and Berber have common features in morphology and in vocabulary.2 The roots common to Egyptian and Semitic are presented in a useful manner in A. Ember, Egypto-Semitic Studies (Leipzig, 1930), and in F. Calice, Grundlagen der dgyptisch-semitischen Wortver-

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SEMITIC AND EGYPTIAN

COMPARISONS

45

intention to give here the roots of all the Semitic languages. The comparisons are arranged according to phonetic correspondences, so as to present at the same time a comparison between the phonetic systems of Semitic and Egyptian. The arrangement of the article is as follows: comparisons according to phonetic correspondences between Egyptian and Semitic taking Egyptian as basis; list of phonetic correspondences between Semitic and Egyptian taking Semitic as basis; index of Egyptian roots; index of Semitic roots. The transcription of the Egyptian roots and their arrangement in the index are taken from A. Erman and H. Grapow, W6rterbuch der igyptischen Sprache. Since there is no index of HamitoSemitic comparisons except those of Ember, Calice, and Cohen (see above),4 I am unable to verify whether any of the etymologies mentioned here have already been proposed elsewhere. Occasionally a Cushitic etymology will also be given.
PHONETIC CORRESPONDENCES BETWEEN

For other examples of Egyptian m = Semitic m, see smn (No. 8), (No. 11), .ms' dm' (No. 25), hm (No. 29). See also Cohen, p. 189. Egyptian b = Semitic b 4. Eg. bw "place"; Hebr. b&(a)"come," Akk. bdau, G. boDa "enter"; cp. also Sidamo (Cushitic) ba'-i io "place." 5. Eg. bw "not" (a negative auxiliary verb); Soq. be "without, before," for which see, however, W. Leslau, Lexique Soqotri, p. 80. 6. Eg. dbdb "attack, lay hands on"; Amh. ddbidddib "hit." For other examples of Egyptian b = Semitic b, see dbn (No. 17), nbd (No. 18), belle (No. 22), qgb (No. 23), qb (No. 32). (See also Cohen, p. 173.) Egyptian p = Semitic p/f 7. Eg. wpw.t "message, charge, work"; G. Da-wfdyd "transmit, consign," Ar. wafa (root wfy) "accomplish." See also Cohen, p. 167. Egyptian f = Semitic f See sTrf (No. 19), nfC (No. 28). See also Cohen, p. 169.
DENTALS

EGYPTIAN

AND SEMITIC

LABIALS

Egyptian m = Semitic m 1. Eg. mdd "measure for wine" (late "measure," Akk. Egyptian); Hebr. m&1dad madddu, Ar. madda "stretch," unless the Eg. mdd is a loanword. 2. Eg. gmgm "break (utensil, member of body)"; Gurage (Eia) gamiiggdmd-m "chip off the rim of a utensil." 3. Eg. tmm "close"; is undoubtedly the same root as Egyptian tm "finish" and is to be compared with Ar. tamma "accomplish," Hebr. tam, as against Cohen who separated Eg. tmm (No. 33) from tm (No. 322).
4 A list of phonetic correspondences is also found in Vycichl, pp. 367-79.

Egyptian d = Semitic d See mdd (No. 1), dbdb (No.6), (Sdj No. 13), dbn (No. 17), dm' (No. 25).5 See also Cohen, p. 152. Egyptian d = Semitic t See nbd (No. 18). See also Cohen, p. 155. Egyptian t = Semitic t See tmm (No. 3). See also Cohen, p. 150.
5 The error of comparing Eg. wdh "pour out" with a G. wdh "pour" found in A. Ember, Egypto-Semitic Studies, ?26b.2, in Calice No.30 is taken up by Vycichl, p. 273. The G. wsh (with s) was misread by these authors as wdh (with d).

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46
SIBILANTS

JOURNAL

OF NEAR

EASTERN

STUDIES

Egyptian n = Semitic 1 15. Eg. nhj "lament"; G. lahawd Egyptian s = Semitic t "lament." Calice No. 670 expresses doubts 8. Eg. gmn "value, price of corn"; Ar. about Ar. anaha, Hebr. anah "sigh" protaman "price" unless Eg. smn is a loanfor the Egyptian root word. Calice No. 799 compares Eg. swn posed by Albright For Eg. h = Sem. h, see 8hr (No. 10), nhj. (in Calice written swn) "price" with Ar. h.t (No. 33). tmn. 16. Eg. nw.t "rope, cord"; Ar. lawd 9. Eg. snsn, 'ns'j "praise, worship"; Ar. (root lwy) "twist a rope," Te. Idwla "wind tannd (root tny) "praise." around." 17. Eg. dbn "ring, circle"; Calice No. 362 Egyptian g = Semitic s compares Ar. dibla "ring"; cp. also Amh. (Arabic, Ethiopic), ? (Hebrew) dabulbul "spherical, round." 10. Eg. 4hr "advice, counsel"; perhaps 18.Eg. nbd "be covered with metal"; Ar. sihr "sorcery, magic," Hebr. aahar Tna. Amh. lbt "cover with metal." For "charm." The passage of meaning could Sem. t and Eg. d, see Cohen, p. 155. The be explained by the fact that advice or validity of the comparison depends on the counsel can be given with the help of problem of usage of metal at a time when magic. Egyptian and Ethiopic could have had a 11. Eg. "phallus"; perhaps G. common root. h.m Amh. ams "female genital hams "womb," For the correspondence n:1, see also parts." Cohen, p. 182. 12. Eg. 4k "complaint"; Ar. sak7 "complain." Egyptian r = Semitic r ' For other examples of Egyptian = 19. Eg. sdrf "take a rest" is perhaps a Semitic s/s, see rs (No. 21). See also Cohen, secondary formation with the s-morpheme p. 141. of the causative from *crf for which compare G. a-crdfd "take a rest." The morEgyptian s' = Semitic s/s' pheme of the Geez causative became 13. Eg. sdj "field"; Hebr. k&d1(h) "field," agglutinated into the root of Amharic Ugaritic sd "acre" unless it is a loanword arrdfd "take a rest" (for *'arrdfd from in one or another language. *Da-carrdfd) as is the case in Egyptian grf For Egyptian s = Semitic s/s, see also from *s-crf. Cohen, p. 133. 20. Eg. wcr.t "leg"; Gurage (Naha, Eza,
LIQUIDS

Egyptian n = Semitic n 14. Eg. nnj "child"; Soq. nin-hin "elder brother," Hebr. nin "offspring, posterity." For the Soqotri and Hebrew roots, see Leslau, Lexique Soqotri, p. 268. For other examples of Egyptian n = Semitic n, see Amn (No. 8), ngn (No. 9), nfC (No. 28), (No. 34). See also Cohen, 1hn p. 185.

Ennemor) wdr "leg." Note, however, that the r of Gurage could represent the liquid n or 1. Brockelmann, ZSem. VIII(1932), 103 compares Eg. wcr.t with Ar. wcr "run away." For other examples of Eg. r = Sem. r,

see .hr (No. 10), kr.tj (No. 31). (See also

Cohen, p. 178.) Egyptian r = Semitic n 21. Eg. rd (rji) "be awake," 4-rsj "wake up"; G. tii-ndga "wake up," Amh. ta-nassa,

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SEMITIC AND EGYPTIANCOMPARISONS from the Semitic root nFs, n42 (Hebr.

47

na-s(a)"lift.")
Coptic 1 = Semitic 1 22. Coptic balle "blind"; Selti (Gurage) illi bilo "blind," lit. "blind of eye," Darasa (Sidamo) balla'a. The comparison of the Coptic root with Bilin carab proposed by Cohen No. 66 is considered by the author himself as doubtful. LARYNGEALS = Semitic Egyptian 23. Eg. qib "be double"; G. kacdab "be double" rather than Ar. qalaba "turn over upside down" proposed by Calice No. 323. The correspondence ::' is perhaps to be explained as a dissimilation process due to the presence of an emphatic in Egyptian. See also Cohen, p. 90. ' = Semitic 1 Egyptian 24. Eg. k) "say"; perhaps to be compared with Ar. qdla "say," Hebr. q5l "voice," Ethiopic qal. For Egyptian k: Semitic q, see also kr.tj (No. 31). ' = Semitic r Egyptian 25. Eg. dm) "tie together"; G.Amh. ddmmdrd "insert, unite, mingle." 26. Eg. h' "behind, after"; Te. har "behind, after," from the Semitic root 'hr "be last, be behind" with loss of the glottal stop. For other examples of Eg. : Sem. r, see also Cohen, p. 181.6 Egyptian c = Semitic r 27. Eg. wC "one"; Te. woro "one," perhaps of Cushitic origin. 28. Eg. nfc "chase away clouds"; Ar.
6 Eg. j-C "donkey" compared by Vycichl, p. 380, with G. awal "young of donkey" could also be comwith Ar. pared cayr "donkey" as suggested by Cohen No. 62.

nafara "disperse, flee." Calice No. 58 compares Ar. nafaga "jump up." For other examples of Eg. c = Sem. r. see also Cohen, Nos. 510, 512. Egyptian h = Semitic h 29. Eg. hm "calumniate"; G. hamdiyd "calumniate." See also Cohen No. 104, who states that Semitic h (g) corresponds to Egyptian h, but gives no examples for the correspondence. Egyptian h = Semitic h 30. Eg. ghwj "comprise, include," forms with the g-morpheme of the causative from the root hwj; Ar. hawd (root hwy) "include." For other examples of Egyptian h = Semitic h, see hms' (No. 11), 4h (No. 26). See also Cohen, p. 98. VELARS Egyptian g = Semitic g See gmgm (No. 2); see also Cohen, p. 118. Egyptian k = Semitic k See gk (No. 12); see also Cohen, p. 112. Egyptian k = Semitic q 31. Eg. kr.tj "horns"; is perhaps to be compared with Semitic qrn "horn" that has the form qdr in some Gurage dialects, an Ethiopian group of dialects in which the liquids are as unstable as in Egyptian. For the correspondence of Egyptian k: Semitic q, see also kE (No. 24). Egyptian q = Semitic q 32. Eg. qb "be humble, be humiliated"; perhaps Te. qdba (root qby) "contemn, revile," if the basic meaning can be connected with that of "humiliate." For other examples of this regular correspondence, see also Cohen, p. 124.

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48

JOURNALOF NEAR EASTERNSTUDIES Egyptian q = Semitic k

LABIALS

See q:b (No. 23). Sem. m= Eg. m (Nos. 1, 2,3, 8, 11, 25,29); Sem. b=Eg. b (Nos. 4, 5, 6, 17, 18, 22, 23, = Semitic Egyptian h 32); Sem. p/f=Eg. p (No. 7); South Sem. .h 33. Eg. h.t "fire"; G. haw "fire" rather f= Eg. f (Nos. 19, 28). than G. hatdwd"burn" proposed by Cohen DENTALS No. 142. In the Geez root htw, t is a radical of the root whereas in Egyptian Sem. d=Eg. d (Nos. 1, 6, 13, 17, 25); h.t the t is a suffixed morpheme. Sem. t=Eg. t (No. 3); Sem. t=Eg. d For other examples of Egyptian h =

Semitic h, see ghr (No. 10), nhj (No. 15).

Egyptian h = Arabic g

(No. 18).
SIBILANTS

Sem. t=Eg. 4 (Nos. 8, 9); Sem. s/8= 34. Eg. An "play music"; Ar. Oannd Eg. 4 (Nos. 10, 11, 12, 21); Sem. 4/8=Eg. ? "sing." For the correspondence of Ar. (No. 13). Oanna with Berber and Cushitic, see Cohen No. 83.
LIQUIDS SEMI-VOWELS

Sem. n=Eg. n (Nos. 8, 9, 14, 28, 34);

Sem. n=Eg. r (No. 21); Sem. 1=Eg. n

out for." Calice No. 461 compares Eg. iwj "be long" with Ar. )awa "set out for"; Cohen No. 25 speaks of "l'absence d'un correspondent simitique."
Egyptian i = Cushitic w

Egyptian i = Semitic' 35. Eg. iw (ij) "come"; Ar. 'awd "set

(Nos. 15, 16, 17, 18); Sem. 1=Eg.' (No. 24); Sem. t=Coptic 1 (No. 22); Sem. r=Eg. r (Nos. 10, 19, 20, 31); Sem. r= : Eg. (Nos. 25, 26).
LARYNGEALS

36. Eg. irj "make, do"; perhaps Bedja wir "make, do" rather than Ethiopic hlw "be" proposed by Cohen No. 20. Calice No. 502 expressed doubts about Akk. warfi "drive" proposed by Albright for Egyptian
irj. Egyptian w = Semitic w

Sem. '=Eg. i (No. 35); Sem. '=Eg. (No. 23); Sem. h= Eg. h (No. 29); Sem. h = Eg. 4 (Nos. 11, 26, 30); Sem. h= Eg.. (Nos. 10, 15, 33).
VELARS

See wpw.t (No. 7), nw.t (No. 16), w' (No. 27), (No. 30), iw (No. 35). See h.wj also bw (Nos. 4, 5) and Cohen, p. 196.
PHONETIC CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN SEMITIC AND EGYPTIAN

Sem. g= Eg. g (No. 2); Sem. k=Eg. k (No. 12); Sem. k = Eg. q (No. 23); Sem. q= Eg. q (No. 32); Sem. q=Eg. k (Nos. 24, 31); Sem. q=Eg. h (No. 34).
SEMI-VOWELS

Sem. w=Eg. w (Nos. 7, 16, 27, 30, 35); Cushitic w= Eg. i (No. 36).

INDEX OF THE EGYPTIAN ROOTS For the benefit of the Semitist I am a list below of iw (35), irj (36), w' (27), wcr.t (20), giving phonetic correspondences between Semitic and Egyptian wpw.t (7), bw (4), bw (5), balle (22), mdd (1), nw.t (16), nbd (18), nfc (28), nnj (14), nhj taking Semitic as basis.

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SEMITIC AND EGYPTIAN COMPARISONS

49

(15), rs (21), hm (29), h4 (26), hm8 (11), h.t (33), hn (34), gmn (8), 4nsn, 4ndj (9), grf (19), dhwj (30), Shr (10), 8k (12), dj (13), q:b (23), qb (32), k: (24), kr.tj (31), gmgm

(2), tmm (3), dbn (17), dbdb(6), dm) (25).

INDEX OF THE SEMITIC ROOTS

(Ar. 16), madda (Ar. 1), madddu (Akk. 1), m&dad (Hebr. 1), nafara (Ar. 28), nin (Hebr. 14), nin-hin (Soq. 14), td-nissa (Amh. 21), *ndid: (Hebr. 21), nds:a (G. 21), qdba (Te. 32), qgal (Ethiopic 24), qdla (Ar. 24), q6l (Hebr. 24), qdr (Gurage 31), qarn (Sem. 31), sihr (Ar. 10), *kidd (Hebr.
13), sd (Ugaritic 13), (Hebr. 10), ah.ar tamma (Ar. 3), 8akd (Ar. 12), tam (Hebr. 3), taman (Ar. 8), tanna (Ar. 9), woro (Te. 27),

waffd (Ar. 7), 'a-wfdyd (G. 7). (Selti 22), ddbddddbd(Amh. 6), dabulbul (Amh. 17), ddmmdrd (G. Amh. 25), gamdgCUSHITIC ROOTS gdmd-m (Gurage 2), gannd (Ar. 34), hams balla'a (Darasa 22), wir (Bedja 36). (G. 11). hamdyd (G. 29), har (Te. 26), haw

ams (Amh. 11), arrdfd (Amh. 19), "awd (Ar. 35), a-crdfd (G. 19), be (Soq. 5), *b~' (Hebr. 4), bd'u (Akk. 4), bo'a (G. 4), belo

(Amh. Tna. 18), lahawd (G. 15), lawd

(G. 33), hawd (Amh. 30), kacabd (G. 23), lbt

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