With the exception of [v4] and perh. [v8]-[v11] (where connection with other values is not, or nor immediately, evident), practically all values in the Ar root √ǦDL can easily be explained as derivations from the basic idea of [v1] ‘twisting strongly (a rope etc.)’. This “roof” value, and some of its derivatives, are also the most widely attested ones in Sem (cf. #GDL-1 in
DRS, see below, section COGN).
▪ For an attempt to derive ǦDL from a 2-consonantal root nucleus *GD‑ see below, section DISC.
▪ Ar [v1] unites two basic notions which in other Sem langs appear as distinct values and have developed in many directions also in Ar: ‘twisting (rope)’ and ‘strength, firmness’. As rightly observed by
DRS, a semantic relation between ‘twisting’ and ‘making firm\strong’ can be found also in other roots, such as ↗√BRM, ↗√KBR, ↗√KRB, ↗√MSD, ↗√MRR, ↗√ʕSD, ↗√ʕQD, ↗√FTL, and ↗√QWW/Y. In a similar vein, also ‘strong’ and ‘great, big, large’ are connected not only in ǦDL but also in ↗√ʕẒM.
▪ [v1] ‘to twist tight, braid, plait’ is the “roof” value from which most other values in the root can be thought to derive. The value is widely attested in Sem (Akk,
1
Hbr, Aram, Ar, Soq, Te) and can thus be posited, with all likelihood, also for protSem *GDL.
▪ [v2] ‘to quarrel, wrangle; (
esp.) to argue, debate, dispute, contest’: obviously a semantic extension from [v1] ‘twisting’, peculiar to Ar where the basic notion of ‘quarreling, fighting’ is found in ↗
ǧadal ‘fight’, but mostly in the extended vb. forms. Given that the value is only very scarcely attested outside Ar (only in EthSem, where it came to mean ‘to kill’), it is hard to decide whether the fig. value ‘
intellectual argument, dispute’, so prominent in Ar, developed from ‘clashing/quarelling physically’ or whether it is the result of a transfer of meaning
directly from ‘twisting’ (in which case ‘physical clash\fighting’ could also be interpreted as a development from ‘firmness, strength, maturity’, etc. – see [v6] below). The value is attested from early on; in the Qurʔān, it is even the only one with which the root √ǦDL is present.
▪ [v3] ¹
miǧdāl ‘flagstone, ashlar’: specified in Lane ii 1865 as »oblong roofing-stone, of those which, placed side by side, form the roof of a subterranean passage, &c.«. The value seems to be a specialisation based on [v6] *‘hard, firm, strong’, perh. influenced by
†miǧdal ‘stronghold, fortress’ (which is usually believed to be a loan from Hbr
migdāl ‘tower, stronghold’).
▪ [v4] In ClassAr lexicography, ǦDWL is generally treated s.v. ǦDL. Lane ii 1865 specifies:
ǧadwal, var.
ǧidwal, ‘rivulet, streamlet (whether natural, or formed artificially for irrigation; being often applied to a streamlet for irrigation, in the form of a trench, or gutter]; (
hence:)
ĭstaqāma ǧadwaluhum, expr., their affair, or case, was, or became, in a right, a regular, or an orderly, state’, like the
ǧadwal when its flow is uniform and uninterrupted;
ĭstaqāma ǧadwal al-ḥāǧǧ, expr., the caravan of the pilgrins formed an uninterrupted line; (
hence also:) kind of small vein; (
and:)
ǧadwal kitāb, ruled line (such as is ruled round a page, &c.); column, table (of a book)’. – Relation to ǦDL unclear; perh. *‘trickles uniting (“intertwining”) and thus forming a rivulet’; a (dimin.?)
FaʕwaL~
FiʕwaL formation (not classified as a standard pattern in any grammar so far)? Can the use of
ǧadwal in the sense of ‘ruled line; column; list, roster; chart, table, schedule’ (in MSA the most prevalent use) help to explain the connection betw. ‘twisting’ and ‘rivulet’? Should, e.g., also a table\chart\roster be regarded as *‘intertwining’ lines, the result of some “twisting”?
▪
†[v5] : The group comprises other specific interpretations, material and figurative, which, like [v2], are based on the element of *‘twisting’ in [v1] (the only difference being that the values of
†[v5] have become obsolete in MSA). It is clear that things like ropes and girdles are ‘tightly twisted’ and that also whips and traps/cages belong here. A certain type of girdle (
ǧadīlaẗ) that would be worn by menstruous women round their waists could become a synonym for ‘menstruous woman’ as such. In a similar vein, the way s.th. was twisted could take on more general meanings like ‘way, mood’ or (mental structure, the way s.o. is “knitted” =) ‘habit; nature; determination of the mind’. *‘Nicely\beautifully twisted\knitted\woven’ cound take the meaning ‘slender, well-formed, shapely’, hence also ‘graceful, handsome’.
▪
†[v6] : In this group we find the obsolete values corresponding to non-obsolete [v3], i.e., specific interpretations, material and figurative, of the other of the two core notions of [v1], namely *‘strength, firmness’. The value is not uncommon outside Ar, but only in forms with prefixed
m‑, all meaning ‘tower, fortification’ (Ug, Hbr, Moab, Aram, Syr, LiḥAr, Min), and the cognate Ar term,
†miǧdal, may in fact be a borrowing (from Hbr), perh. also its relative, [v3] ¹
miǧdāl ‘flagstone, ashlar’. In contrast, Ar displays a whole range of lexemes containing the basic notion of be(com)ing or making ‘firm, strong, solid, hard, robust’, incl. vb.s, adj.s, and n.s. While ‘tomb’ may be (like ‘tower, fortification’) *‘the firmly built one’, ‘unripe dates’ are hard, and such should also be the ‘pestle’ of a mortar. – A special case may be
†ǧadl~
ǧidl ‘limb, any part of the body; penis; sinew; (pl.) bones of the legs’. ClassAr “etymology”,
ĭštiqāq, tends to interpret the word (esp. the penis) as *‘the hard one’. In contrast, MilitarevKogan2000 (
SED I) #73 think it may be independent from the other ǦDL items, going back to a protSem *
g˅d(˅)l‑ ‘limb’. The authors concede that attestation in Sem is rather scarce – apart from Ar, there are only postBiblHbr
(ʔª)gūdāl ‘thumb, great toe’, and modSAr ‘foot’ (Mhr
gēdəl, Ḥrs
gédəl, Jib
gέdəl) –; nevertheless, they think this is reliable enough to assume a wider Sem dimension.
2
Moreover, they assume that their hypothetical protSem *
g˅d(˅)l‑ ‘limb’ might be »related with suffixed
‑l to [protSem] *
g˅d-at‑ ‘(part or bone of) the leg of animal’« [
SED I #71, no reflexes attested in Ar].
▪
†[v7] : Apart from ‘twisting, rope, etc.’ and ‘strength, firmness, etc.ʼ, the idea of *‘growth, greatness, maturity, ripeness’ and corresponding capacities is rather widespread beyond Ar (Ug, Hbr, Aram). In this group we find not only vb.s signifying ‘to grow (grain, young men)’ but also corresponding adj.s like ‘ripe (corn, grain)’, ‘grown up, being able to walk by itself (young camel) or o.s. (child)’. Here belongs also the vb. II, attested from early on, in the sense of ‘to knock s.o. down’ (with also vb. V ‘to fall down’ and vb. VII ‘to be thrown down’); these could likewise be interpreted as the result of having gained ‘strength’, thus belonging to the complex of [v6] rather than that of [v7]. – For MilitarevStolbova2007, the wider attestation outside Ar (and, perh., even some cognates outside Sem) are reason enough to posit a protSem *
g˅d˅l‑ ‘(to be\come) big, strong’ (< AfrAs *
g˅d˅l‑ ‘to be big’); see below, sections COGN and DISC, for further details).
▪
†[v8] : The specification ‘having fine sand | couverte d’un sable fin’ seems to contradict a derivation of ‘earth, soil, ground’ from the basic notion of [v6] ‘hard, solid, firm’; but also fine sand may be very hard, so it may well belong to [v6]. The same word can also mean ‘
country, state; tribe’, which with all likelihood is a specialization of ‘firm ground’.
▪
†[v9] : The type of falcon or hawk called
†ʔaǧdal has its name either from its beautiful, well-shaped appearance (cf. [v5]) or its strength (cf. [v6]). Grammarians discussed whether the word was an elative formation (in which case it should not take nunation:
ʔaǧdalu) or whether it should be treated like a “real” noun (hence
ʔaǧdalun).
▪
†[v10]
†maǧdal ‘troop’: < *‘the strong one, standing firm’?
▪
†[v11]
†ǧadala (
ǧadl) ‘to melt fat’: ?
EtymArab
ʔ
