ID … • Sw – • BP … • APD … • © SG | 15Feb2021
√NǦM
▪ The meaning of AlgAr naǧām and the corresponding vb. II, naǧǧam ‘to have the power, be able to do s.th.’, seems to be the latest stage in a semantic development that goes back, ultimately, to the notion of ‘appearing, coming in sight’ (↗naǧama): > ‘to appear in the sky’ = ‘to rise (stars)’ > ‘star’ (↗¹naǧm, ↗naǧmaẗ) > ‘to observe the stars’ (↗¹naǧǧama) > †‘to fix s.th. according to the course of stars, hence, at appointed terms’ (↗²naǧm) > ‘to accomplish s.th. at appointed terms, step by step, gradually’ (↗²naǧǧama) > ‘to accomplish (in general)’ (↗²naǧǧama) > ‘to be able, have the ability to accomplish s.th. (AlgAr naǧǧam), to have the resources to do so’ > ‘resources’. Alternatively, the semantics may be based directly on ↗naǧama, vb. I, ‘to appear’: > vb. II = causative formation, lit. *‘to make appear’ = ‘to create, accomplish’ etc.
► naǧǧam, vb. II, (AlgAr) to have the power, be able to do s.th. For other items of the root, see ↗naǧama, ↗¹naǧǧama, ↗²naǧǧama, ↗¹naǧm, ↗²naǧm, ↗³naǧm, ↗naǧmaẗ, ↗¹manǧam, ↗²manǧam, ↗manǧim, ↗†minǧam and, for the whole picture, root entry ↗√NǦM.
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