▪ QNW_1 : Zimmern1914 thinks that the Hbr, Aram, and Ar forms all go back to the Akk n.
qanû with the basic meaning (accord. to CAD) of
1 ‘reed’, and hence also
2 a type of fragrant reed (cf. Ar ↗
qinnaẗ),
1
3 an arrow,
4 a tube or pipe,
5 a measuring rod, hence also
6 a measure of length, and
7 a plot of land. The Akk term may itself be a borrowing from Sum
gi, but others reconstruct Sem *
qanaw‑ ‘reed’. — The borrowing of Akk
qanû into Hbr as
qānêʰ, meaning not only ‘reed’ but again also a specific type of aromatic reed, ‘tube, pipe’, a measure of length of 6 cubits, a ‘beam of scales’, and hence ‘scales’, is, accord. to Zimmern, secured. — The same Akk
qanû (or the Hbr word) was probably also loaned into Grk, from where it passed, via Lat, into many European languages, see WESTLANG below.
▪ QNW_2 : Zimmern1914 takes a dependence (as denominative formation) of ‘to buy, acquire’ on QNW_1 in the specialised sense of ‘scales’ for granted. The only thing that is not clear to him is whether the non-Akk vb.s are directly from the Akk n. or only via the n.s that are borrowed from the Akk one. Against this direct borrowing speaks the fact that, accord. to the author, Akk
qanû, unlike Hbr
qānêʰ, usually does not mean ‘scales’, but only ‘measuring rod’. There is, however, also the Akk vb.
qanû ‘to buy, acquire’. But this is attested not earlier than in nAss and thus may itself be a (re-)borrowing from WSem.
▪ QNW_3 : Probably dependent on Ar
qanāẗ : ‘shaft’ > ‘shaft with dates’ > ‘bunch of dates’.