▪ With all probability, the item belongs to the complex of ʻharshness, hardship, difficulty,
hence also pain, grieve’ attached to the root ʕṢB mostly in Hbr, Aram and EthSem. Closer relatives in Ar may be (among others) the notions, now obsol., of ‘to be(come) difficult’ (
†ĭnʕaṣaba, vb. VII), ʻto dry in the mouth (saliva); to become red (horizon) (< due to dryness)’ (
†ʕaṣaba,
†ʕaṣiba), ʻred mist seen in a time of drought’ (
†ʕiṣābaẗ), ʻto reduce s.o. to straitness, make (people) starve (dearth)’ (
†ʕaṣṣaba, vb. II). Leslau2006 would not exclude a (metathetical) relation to Ar ↗
ṣaʕuba ʻto be(come) difficult, hard’. But the complex may also simply be dependent on the idea of *ʻtension, tightening, contraction’ implied in the vb. ↗
ʕaṣaba ʻto bind, tie, wrap’, which, it its turn, may, ultimately, be derived from ↗
ʕaṣab ʻnerves, sinews’.
▪ A more direct link (without the “detour” via ʻto bind, tie, wrap’) between ʻnerves, sinews’ and ʻhardship, pain’ can probably be seen in Jib
ʕaṣbɛ́t which not only signifies ‘sinew, nerve’ but also ‘headache’.
1
– In a similar vein, BK1860 interprets the obsol. Ar vb. XII,
†ĭʕṣawṣaba ʻto gather one’s forces, make the highest effort’, as »
proprem. tendre tous ses muscles pour aller au plus vite;
de là (fig.) devenir très intense, violent«, in this way bringing together ʻsinews’ (muscles) and ʻintensity, violence’; cf. also the ClassAr expressions
†ĭʕṣawṣaba ’l-šarr ʻle mal, le malheur, la guerre fut à son apogee’ and
†ĭʕṣawṣaba ’l-yawm ʻla journée (du combat ou de la chaleur) fut dure’. The same relation can be observed in
†ʔaʕṣaba, vb. IV, ‘to walk at a quick pace (camel)’, »
proprem. tendre tous les muscles à cet effet« – BK1860.