▪ MRː (MRR)_1 ‘to pass, go by, elapse, cross, etc.; time, turn’ ↗marr-/marar- u (marr, murūr, mamarr) ▪ MRː (MRR)_2 ‘bitter; myrrh’ ↗murr ▪ MRː (MRR)_3 ‘tightness, strength; (tightly twisted) rope; to struggle; to continue; (strong) character’ ↗marr_1 ▪ MRː (MRR)_4 ‘spade, shovel’ ↗marr_2 Now obsolete: ▪ MRː (MRR)_5 †‘young girl of slight build’ ↗? ▪ MRː (MRR)_6 †‘desert’ ↗?♦ Semantic value spectrum in ClassAr (acc. to BAH2008): ‘to pass by; to drag along, to continue; to twist together, might, determination; to struggle, to be trustworthy; once, one time; myrrh, bitterness, gall, gall bladder; to be angry; marble’
–
–
▪ … ▪ …
▪ The obsolete value MRː (MRR)_5 is represented by the meaning †‘jeune fille au corps délicat’ given for murayrāʔ and mārūraẗ by Kazimirski. A distinct item or connected to one of the other values? The forms of the words suggest that they are derived from s.th. else – perhaps from MRː (MRR)_2 ↗murr (fig. use of murayrāʔ and mārūraẗ ‘plante à la graine noire et amère qui se mêle au blé’), or from MRː (MRR)_3 ↗marr_1 (< *‘girl of a body as thin as a tightly twisted rope’)? ▪ The obsolete value MRː (MRR)_6 ‘desert’ is attested through marīr†‘desert’ (Kazimirski) and marawrāt pl. marawrà, marawrayāt, marārī†‘völlige Wüste’ (Wahrmund). Connected to MRː (MRR)_1 ‘bitter’? ▪ According to Ehret1989, the “simple form” marr ‑ ‘to pass, pass by, depart, go away’ has preserved an earlier bi-consonantal *mr from which a number of triradical themes have been formed via extension: (+ “inchoative/denominative” *‑y =) mary ‘to take out, pull out’, (+ “durative” *‑t =) mart ‘to drive away’, (+ “durative” *‑g =) marǧ ‘to send an animal to pasture’. ▪ Another value of *mr as given by Ehret1989 is ‘to brush with the fingers’. The author remains silent as to the possibility, or impossibility, of a relation between this theme and ‘to pass, pass by, depart, go away’. From *mr ‘to brush with the fingers’, Ehret1989 derives ↗maraḫ (“extension” in “iterative” *‑ḥ), †mart ‘to smooth’, ↗maraṯa, †marz ‘to press slightly with the fingertips’, mars ‘to macerate and crush with the hand’ (↗marasa), ↗maraša, ↗maraʕa, †marġ ‘to anoint with oil’ (cf. also ↗√MRĠ), †marq ‘to scratch off the wool’ (cf. also ↗√MRQ), and †mary ‘to stroke the udder of the camel for milking’ (cf. also ↗√MRY).
to pass, go, walk, saunter, or stroll (bi‑ or ʕalā by or past s.th.); to march past s.o. (ʔamāma), pass in review (bi‑, ʕalā before s.o.; mil.); to pass, elapse, go by, run out (time); to come, go, walk, or pass along s.th., skirt; to pass, go, walk, move, march, travel, cross, traverse (bi‑, min, ʕalā a place, a country, a room); to flow through, run through; to fly through; to lead, run, cut (bi‑ through an area; border), pass (fī over), cross (fī an area); to go or pass (bi‑ through a stage or phase), undergo (bi‑ a state or phase); to cross (ʕalā a border, a line, mountains, etc.); to fly (fawqa over an area; airplane); to depart, go away, leave – WehrCowan1979. – (Does also the value ‘to continue (yafʕalu to do s.th.), keep, or go on, doing s.th.’ belong here? We do not believe so and suggest the latter’s dependence on ↗marr_1 ‘tightly twisted rope’, hence ‘strength, endurance’.)
Cf. also ↗√MRː (MRR), with disambigution.
▪ eC7 Q (passim): ‘to pass by; pass on; go’
Ug mr ‘weggehen, weichen’, Hbr mar ‘drop’ (n.), ESA mrr ‘to happen to, befall’ (Zammit2002). ▪ Akk marāru ‘to leave, go away’ is a loan-word from WSem (CAD, s.v. “marāru C”), according to Zammit2002 from Ug.
▪ Given the Ug, Hbr and SA cognates, the verb can be assumed to be of Sem origin, with a value either of s.th. like ‘to go away, leave’ or ‘to pass by (quickly?), flash by’. ▪ Orel&Stolbova1994#1731 reconstruct Sem *mur‑ ‘to go away’ (but only on the evidence of Ar marr‑, IPFV ‑murr‑). Outside Sem, the authors see cognates in Berb *m˅r‑ (> Ayr əmmər‑ ‘to pass by’), WCh *mir‑ /*mur‑ ‘to run’ (> mir‑, mur‑ in 2 languages), HEC *mar‑ ‘to go’ (> mar‑ in 4 languages, among which Sid), Dhl mar‑ ‘to go round’, and hence reconstruct AfrAs *mar‑ ‘to walk’. Vowelism in Sem *mur‑ then would be secondary. ▪According to Ehret1989, the “simple form” marr ‘to pass, pass by, depart, go away’ has preserved an earlier biconsonantal *mr‑ from which a number of triradical themes have been formed via extension: (+ “inchoative/denominative” *y =) †mary ‘to take out, pull out’, (+ “durative” *t =) †mart ‘to drive away’, (+ “durative” *g =) marǧ ‘to send an animal to pasture’ (↗marǧ).
Essential to marr ‘rope’ is the ‘tightness’ with which it is twisted, hence the ‘strength’ that is needed to twist it and that the tightly twisted rope itself may represent, figuratively. Inner-Arabic evidence suggests logical precedence of ‘rope’ before ‘strength’. But Orel&Stolbova supply evidence from outside Sem that would favour ‘strength’ as the basic meaning. – Any relation with ↗murr ‘bitter’? Relation with marr‑ / marar‑ ‘to pass’ unlikely.
▪ …
Akk marmaru (with redupl.) ‘healthy, strong’; cf. also Ḥrs merret ‘strength’ – Orel&Stolbova1994#1737. Cf. also marmāru ‘strong person’ – CAD.
It looks as if either the ‘strength’ with which a rope is twisted, or the ‘rope’ that is twisted tightly, i.e., with strength, are the logical basis in Ar from which other values are derived. From ‘rope’: ‘to tie up a camel’ (with a rope), ‘to twist o.s. (like a rope) about s.o. = to wrestle, fight’, and perhaps also ‘firmness, determination, resoluteness’ (etc. – Kazimirski, at least, regards marīr in the sense of †‘résolution ferme et inébranlable’ as a figurative use of †‘ficelle ou corde mince, mais très-bien tressée et solide’). From ‘strength’: ‘to persist, persevere, keep (doing s.th.)’, hence ‘to last, endure, remain, stay’ in general; (if not from ‘rope’) the ‘vigor, energy, tenacity’ of the mind, hence a person’s ‘intelligence’, but also his/her ‘determination, resoluteness, steadiness, constancy’. Is ‘strength’ logically prior to ‘(tightly twisted) rope’, or vice versa? Morphologically, marr ‘rope’ looks more basic than the words that connote ‘strength’ so that the latter seem to be derived from the former, not the other way round, which is the reason for making marr the lemma, not marīr. ▪ However, on account of the Akk and Hss evidence, which they parallel with Ar marīr, Orel&Stolbova reconstruct Sem *mar‑ ‘healthy, strong’ as the basic meaning. Outside Sem, the authors see a cognate in Hs māre ‘to recover’ (from WCh *mar‑ ‘dto.’). As a common ancestor of the Sem and WCh forms, they suggest AfrAs *mar‑ ‘to recover, be healthy’ – Orel&Stolbova1994#1737. ▪ Related to, or even forming one semantic unit with, the theme of ‘bitterness’ treated under ↗murr ?
–
►marra, u, vb. I, †serrer et attacher avec une corde un chameau, etc. (Kazimirski1860): denominative from marr, or vice versa? – For other meanings ↗marr‑ / marar‑ and ↗murr. ►marrara, vb. II, ↗marr‑ / marar‑ and ↗murr. ►mārra, vb. III, †to twist o.s. about s.o. and turn him round to throw him down (Lane), lutter avec qn. corps à corps et chercher à le renverser par terre (Kazimirski1860). – For other meanings ↗marr‑ / marar‑. ►ʔamarra, vb. IV, †to twist tightly (a rope, a thread); hence also : to struggle or strive with s.o., twist about him, or twist his neck, to throw him down (Lane). – For other meanings ↗marr‑ / marar‑ and ↗murr. ►tamārra, vb. VI, to fight, contend, dispute (with each other), (Lane) to struggle or strive with each other, twisting the other’s neck to throw him down, (Kazimirski1860) lutter avec qn. corps à corps pour le renverser: from the idea of twisting, or rather from ‘bitter’ (*to engage in bitter, severe fight with s.o.)? – For other meanings ↗murr‑. ►imtarra, vb. VIII ↗marr‑ / marar‑. ►ĭstamarra vb. X, to last, endure, continue, go on; to remain, stay; to continue, persist, persevere, keep (doing s.th.), go on (doing s.th.), stick, adhere (to s.th.). †to become tightly twisted (Lane), être tordu avec force, recevoir quelques tours de plus pour être solide (se dit d'une corde) (Kazimirksi1860); hence/de là: to become strong, or firm, like a rope tightly twisted (tropical signification, from the twisting of a rope); hence: to become right after having been corrupt (one’s case or state of affairs), to repent and become good, righteous, virtuous (Lane); de là, on dit d’un homme: istamarrat marīratuhū il s’est raffermi ou rendu plus fort, plus ferme (Kazimirksi1860). – For other meanings ↗marr‑ / marar‑ and ↗murr. ►†marār Strick (Wahrmund1887) ►mirraẗ, n.f., pl. ʔamrār, †mirar strength, power, (Wahrmund1887) Verstand, Einsicht; gesundes Urtheil, (Kazimirksi1860) force de l’intelligence; fermeté, constance | ḏū mirraẗ puissant ou ferme, surnom de l’ange Gabriel: < †firm, strong twisting (Lane), tortis, tresse dont se compose une corde (Kazimirksi1860). – For other meanings ↗murr. ►marīr, adj., pl. marāʔirᵘ strong, firm, stubborn, tenacious, dogged, persistent, deep-seated, deep, profound (esp., of feelings); †résolution ferme et inébranlable [syn. ʕazīmaẗ) (Kazimirksi1860): fig. use of <†ficelle ou corde mince, mais très-bien tressée et solide (Kazimirksi1860). – For other meanings ↗murr. ►marīraẗ, n.f., pl. marāʔirᵘ firmness; determination, resoluteness; vigor, energy, tenacity, doggedness; steadiness, constancy; †langer starker Strick (Wahrmund1887), ficelle ou corde longue, mince et solide; tresse, tortis dont se compose une corde (Kazimirksi1860) ►†mirrīraẗ, n. Absicht (Wahrmund1887) ►†murayr, n. 1 Scorsonère. 2 Hiéracium. 3 Souchet : plantes (Kazimirksi1860): probably rather related to ↗murr (‘bitter’) than to marr_1 (‘making tight, strong through twisting’). ►ĭstimrār X vn. duration, permanence, continuity, continuance, continuation, continued existence, survival; persistence | bi‑’st. continually, constantly; quwwat al-~, n., inertia, vis inertiae : ►ĭstimrāriyyaẗ, n. continuity: abstr. formation from ĭstimrār. ►ʔamarrᵘ, adj. firmer, stronger | al-ʔamarrāni the two bitter things (i.e., poverty and old age); qāsā l-ʔamarrayn to go through the worst, be exposed to greatest hardships: el. – For other meanings ↗murr. ►mustamirr, adj. lasting, permanent, enduring, constant, continual, uninterrupted, unceasing, incessant; continuous, unbroken: PA X.
iron shovel, spade – WehrCowan1979. – For other meanings ↗marr_1
▪ …
▪ …..
▪ … ▪ …
▪ CAD thinks Akk marru‑ ‘spade, shovel’ (cf. also bīt marri ‘land worded with a spade’) is a loan-word from Sum. ▪ Orel&Stolbova1994#1738, however, juxtapose Akk marru, Syr marr or maʔr ‘hoe, spade’, and Ar marr ‘iron spade’ and reconstruct Sem *marr‑ ‘hoe, spade; iron spade’. Given that there seem to be cognates also outside Sem in Eg mr ‘hoe’ (a.), ECh *mar-/ *mir-/ (> mara, miri) ‘hoe’ and HEC *morar- <‑ *marar‑ (> moraara‑ ‘hook of the plough’, with partial redupl., in 1 language), the authors find reasons to believe that all of these may go back to an AfrAs *mar‑ ‘hoe’ (n.), which in itself would be related to (#1739) AfrAs *mar‑ ‘to dig’ (> Sem *mur‑ [with secondary *‑u‑ ] ‘dig’: Akk marāru, and > WCh *mari‑ ‘to hoe, farm’: appearing as mār, mar, na mira in modern WCh languages). ▪ In contrast, Fraenkel1886 believed that marr was borrowed via Aram mrʔ, Syr marrā, from a late Grk márra ‘mattock, hoe’ (cf. also Lat marra ‘sort of hoe for tearing up weeds, a weeding-hook’, found in Plinius, C1 – FALS1879).
1) The word goes probably back to protSem *√MRR ‘to be(come) bitterʼ and a common Sem noun *murr‑ ‘bitterness; myrrh’ (Huehnergard2011) that belongs to the general theme protSem *MRR ‘bitterness’ (Kogan2011). The latter has been suggested to have developed from an AfrAs *mar‑ ‘to be sour’. 2) The word murru appears already in Akk sources. Although it “does not always nor only refer to the costly imported resin” (CAD),1
there is evidence also for the use of real myrrh. The attestations inform us about the use of murru in many fields: in rituals, as an ingredient of perfumes and for scenting oil, in medicine (for fumigation, or as a “medication against stricture of the bladder” which was given to the patient “to drink in beer”, or was “rub[bed] on in oil, or “blow[n] into his penis through a tube”, CAD). Myrrh had to be imported and was therefore very prestigious and expensive.
▪ v1lC6 ʕAntara b. Šaddād 1,36: ʔinna ẓulmiya bāsilun murrun maḏāquhū ka-ṭaʕmi ’l-ʕalqami ‘the injustice/tyranny/torment I suffered [lit. my tyranny] is death-defying (and) bitter, its taste is like the taste of the colocynth’ (Polosin 445). ▪ eC7 Q 54:46 bali ‘s-sāʕatu mawʕidu-hum wa’s-sāʕatu ʔadhā wa-ʔamarru ‘Nay, but the Hour (of doom) is their appointed tryst, and the Hour will be more wretched and more bitter (than their earthly failure)’. ▪ v2 ▪ …
▪ v1 Akk marāru ‘to be bitter’, murruru ‘to make bitter’, marru (māru, f. marratu) ‘bitter, brackish, biting’ (the f. also meaning ‘sea (as body of salty water), CAD); murru ‘bitter taste’; related also murāru ‘bitter lettuce’, Hbr mārar, Aram mᵉrar ‘to be bitter’, Syr mar ‘to be bitter, sour, acid’, Gz marīr ‘amarus, acerbus; exacerbatus’ (Zammit2002, following Dillmann). Within Sem, Orel&Stolbova1994 (#1734) add Hbr mar, Soq mrr, Ḥrs mer, Mhr mer, Śḥr mur and reconstruct Sem *mar‑ ‘(to be) bitter’. ▪ v2 Akk murru, Ug mr, Hbr mōr, JudAram mūrā ‘myrrh’. Huehnergard2011 reconstructs a common Sem noun *murr‑ ‘bitterness; myrrh’, belonging to the general theme Sem *mrr ‘to be(come) bitter’.
Huehnergard2011 reconstructs a general Sem theme *mrr‑ ‘to be(come) bitter’. – Orel&Stolbova1994 (#1734) reconstruct Sem *mar‑ ‘(to be) bitter’. On account of what the authors believe to be cognates – Eg ʕmꜢ (“prefix ʕ‑ ”) ‘become sour’ (pyr) and one mer ‘sour’ in a WCh language (< WCh *mar‑) – they reconstruct AfrAs *mar‑ ‘be sour’ as the origin common to all.
▪ v2 The word entered Eur languages via Grk mýrrha into which it came from some Sem source and was then (according to Dolgopolsky2012) perhaps contaminated with Grk mýron ‘unguent, perfume, sweet oil’, which in its turn is probably related to an Idg root *smeru‑ ‘ointment’, cf. Ge schmieren, denominative of Schmer < Germ *smerwa‑ ‘fat, grease’ (cf. Nor smør ‘butter, fat’) (Kluge2002), which Dolgopolsky2012 thinks is related to a WSem root √*mrḫ ‘to smear’ (↗Ar √mrḫ ‘anoint (the body)’. The Grk term was loaned into Lat murra, murrha, myrrha, which is the source of the word in the Eur languages (cf. oEngl myrre, NL mirre, Ge Myrrhe, Fr myrrhe, Ital Span mirra). It arrived there at an early date: the first attestations in oHGe, e.g., date back into C8 (mirra, myrra, murra) (Kluge2002).
►marr‑ / marar‑, u a (marāraẗ), vb. I, to be or become bitter; †dire des choses amères, désagréables (Kazimirski): denominative. – For other meanings ↗marr‑ / marar‑ and ↗marr_1. ►marrar‑, vb. II, to make bitter, embitter (s.th.): caus., denominative. – For other meanings ↗marr‑ / marar‑. ►†mārr‑ / mārar‑, vb. III, lutter avec qq. corps à corps et chercher à le renverser par terre (Kazimirski): probably not related to murr but to the theme ‘strong, tight’ treated under ↗marr_1. – Cf. also ↗marr‑ / marar‑. ►ʔamarr‑ / ʔamrar‑, vb. IV, to be or become bitter; to make bitter (s.th.); †être mêlé de graines amères (se dit du blé) (Kazimirski): caus., denominative. – For other meanings ↗marr‑ / marar‑ and ↗marr_1. ►tamārr‑ / tamārar‑, vb. VI, to fight, contend, dispute (with each other): probably not related to murr but to the theme ‘strong, tight’ treated under ↗marr_1. †devenir amer, contracter de l’amertume (Kazimirski): denominative. ►ĭmtarr‑ / ĭmtarar‑ , vb. VIII, ↗marr‑ / marar‑. ►ĭstamarr‑ / ĭstamrar‑, vb. X, to think bitter, find bitter (s.th.): denominative. – For other meanings ↗marr‑ / marar‑ and ↗marr_1. ►mirraẗ, n.f., pl. mirar gall, bile ↗s.v.; (pl. ʔamrār) ↗marr_1. ►†murār, n., eine Bitterpflanze (Wahrmund1887): ►marāraẗ, n.f., pl. marāʔirᵘ bitterness; gall, gall bladder; innermost, heart | inšaqqat m.uhū ġayẓan he burst with anger : ►†mirāriyyaẗ, n.f., Galligkeit (Wahrmund1887): ↗mirraẗ. ►marīr, adj., pl. marāʔirᵘ bitter (taste, feelings). – For other meanings ↗marr_1. ►marīraẗ, n. ↗marr_1. ►ʔamarrᵘ, adj., bitterer: el. | al-ʔamarrāni the two bitter things (i.e., poverty and old age); qāsā l-ʔamarrayn to go through the worst, be exposed to greatest hardships. – For other meanings ↗marr_1. ►†ʔamarrᵘ, n., intestines (Kazimirski1860): nominalized el.(?), related to murr ? ►†murrà, n., chose amère | al-murrayān les deux choses les plus amères: l’absinthe et la coloquinte (Kazimirski1860) : nominalized el.f. (?). ►†murrī, n., eine Art Bitterwasser (den Appetit zu schärfen) (Wahrmund1887): nominalized nsb-adj., *tasting myrrh (?), ►†mārūraẗ, n.f., 1 plante à la graine noire et amère qui se mêle au blé; (2 jeune fille au corps délicat et chez qui les chairs tremblent quand elle marche) (Kazimirski1860): While (1) is clearly related to murr the relation is doubtful for (2). ►†murayr, n., 1 scorsonère. 2 hiéracium. 3 souchet : plantes (Kazimirski1860): related to murr because of their ‘bitterness’? ►†murayrāʔ, n., 1 Plante à la graine noire et amère qui se mêle au blé; – (?related:) 2 Jeune fille au corps délicat et chez qui les chairs tremblent quand elle marche. ►†murrāʔᵘ, n., Sorte de vin (Kazimirski1860): related to murr because of its bitterness? (cf. †murrī above). ►mamrūr, adj., bilious; foolish, crazy; fool: PP I ↗mirraẗ.
Complete text
ʔ