disc▪ DRS distinguishes 8 values of the root ḤQQ in Sem, 6 of them with representatives in Ar. According to the authors, #ḤQQ-1 ʻto dig, carve, engrave, cut into’ and #ḤQQ-2 ʻright, rule, duty’ may be related, but the authors remain reluctant to accept this. In contrast, Huehnergard2011 posits a protWSem *ḤQQ ‘to cut into, level, make correct, decree’ where ‘to cut into’ and ‘to make correct, decree’ figure as one value. Semantic dependence of #ḤQQ-2 on #ḤQQ-1 could be explained as *ʻcut in stone, engraved on a tablet > law, decree > right, obligation’. – Strangely enough, DRS does not mention [v2] ʻhollow, cavity; socket of a joint (anat.)’ (Ar ḥuqq) in their list, although this seems to be a reflex of, or akin to, their #ḤQQ-1 ʻto dig, carve, engrave, cut into’, nor do they mention a possible dependence of [v3] (their #ḤQQ-4) ʻsmall box, receptable’ on ʻto dig, carve, engrave, cut into’. The circumscription of ḥaqq in ClassAr lexica as ʻsuitableness to the requirements of wisdom, [etc.] or to the exigencies of the case, as the suitableness of the foot of a door in respect of its socket, for turning round rightly’ (Lane ii 1865) may be an ex-post explanation; but if there is some etymological truth about it, then [v1] ḥaqq ʻrightness, correctness, [etc.]’ could be imagined to be derived from [v2] ḥuqq ʻcavity; socket of a joint’, as *ʻfitting neatly/exactly into the socket’.
▪ [v1] : As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the semantic field ʻright, rule, duty’ may depend on ʻto dig, carve, engrave, cut into’ (DRS#ḤQQ-1), as s.th. carved in stone can be understood as binding, obligatory, a rule, decree, duty, or as s.th. fitting neatly into a socket, etc. – DRS does not mention any other dependencies, but it does not seem unlikely that the obsol. values †[v5]–†[v6] and †[v8]–†[v10] all are derived from the idea of *ʻcorrectness, accuracy, perfection, exactitude, suitableness’ – see suggestions below, s.v.
▪ [v2] : Ar ḥuqq ʻhollow, cavity; socket of a joint (anat.)’ is not mentioned in DRS, but it may well be a reflex of DRS #ḤQQ-1 ʻto dig, carve, engrave, cut into’, as cavities are the result of digging, carving, etc., and the socket of a joint can be regarded as such a cavity. It could, however, also be the other way round, with ʻsocket’ representing the etymon proper and ʻcavity’ being a generalization; in this case, however, Ar would be the only Sem language to have preserved the primary value.
▪ [v3] (DRS #ḤQQ-4) : Given that, morphologically, ḥuqqaẗ is nothing but a f. form of ḥuqq, it seems likely that [v3] ʻsmall box, case, pot or jar; receptacle, container’ depends on [v2] ʻhollow, cavity’, with the latter having become functional as receptable and/or container of s.th.; cf. also obsol. values of ḥuqqaẗ (pl. ḥuqq, ḥuqūq, ḥuqaq, ʔaḥqāq, ḥiqāq), such as †ʻink-bottle; cup of a juggler; compass; vessel of water through which the tobacco-smoke passes’, all of which share the notion of ʻcontainer, receptable’.
▪ [v4] : see above, section CONC.
▪ †[v5] (DRS #ḤQQ-6) : The obsol. word for a ʻspider’s web’, †ḥuqq, looks identical to the one for [v2] ʻhollow, cavity’ and [v7] ʻupper part of the arm’, but semantics can hardly be connected (unless a spider’s web were considered to be, essentially, a *ʻcavity, hollow thing’). Should we instead assume dependence on [v1] *ʻcorrectness, accuracy, perfection, exactitude’, as a spider’s web is an *ʻaccurately\perfectly woven’ thing? Cf. also †[v6] and †[v8]–†[v10], below.
▪ †[v6] (DRS #ḤQQ-7): In ClassAr lexica, the meaning ʻto strike s.o. on the back of the neck’ of the vb. I, †ḥaqqa, is described in more detail as ʻto beat\strike s.o. in\upon the ḥāqq of one’s head, i.e., the middle of it; or in\upon the ḥuqq of his katif, i.e., the small hollow upon the head of his shoulder-blade, or, as some say, the head of the upper arm […]’ (Lane ii 1865). Thus, the lexicographers derive the value either from [v1] – hitting the middle of s.th. understood as ‘hitting precisely, accurately’ (from *ʻcorrectness, accuracy, perfection, exactitude’, as also prob. in †[v5] and †[v8]–†[v10]), or from [v2] ʻhollow, cavity; socket of a joint’, or from †[v7] ʻupper part of the arm’. The basic notion seems to be *‘to hit s.o. properly (i.e., exactly where intended)’ or *‘to hit s.o. right in the middle of x’.
▪ †[v7] (DRS #ḤQQ-8) : †ḥuqq for ʻupper part of the arm’ looks conspicuously similar to [v2] ḥuqq ʻhollow, cavity; socket of a joint (anat.)’; DRS lists it as a value in its own right, but in the light of the explanations given for the vb. †ḥaqqa (see preceding paragraph), it is well not unconceivable that the meaning ʻupper part of the arm’ developed from ʻsocket of a joint’, in this case the cavity where the arm bone fits into the cavity of the shoulderblade’. If this is correct, this value, too, is ultimately dependent on [v2] ʻcavity’.
▪ †[v8] : The items †ḥiqq (n.m./f., f. also ḥiqqaẗ; pl. ḥiqaq, ḥiqāq, ḥuquq, ḥaqāʔiqᵘ) ʻmature, three years-old camel’ and the corresponding (denom.?) vb. VIII (Gt-stem), †ĭḥtaqqa ʻto become fat (cattle)’, do not appear on the list of cognates given in DRS, but are attested quite widely. Unless we are dealing with a lexeme belonging to totally different, though homonymous root, it is likely that ʻmaturity, fatness’ is a special meaning of [v1] *ʻsuitableness, perfection, etc.’, likely reflected also in †[v5]–†[v6] and †[v9]–†[v10]
▪ †[v9] : The meaning ʻcalamity, resurrection’ of the PA I.f., (al-) ḥāqqaẗ, is, lit., *ʻthat which sorts out truth from falsehood; the decisive one; that which is inevitable (reality)’, thus built on [v1]. Use in this sense goes back to Qur’ān 69:3 wa-mā ʔadrā-ka mā ’l-ḥāqqaẗᵘ ʻwhat will explain to you what the reality/decisive moment/inevitable Hour is?’, hence also epithet of the Day of Judgement. al-ḥāqqaẗ is also the name of the whole (Meccan) Sura 69.
▪ †[v10] : †ĭnḥaqqa, vb. VII, ʻto be tightened (knot)’, and †ĭḥtaqqa, vb. VIII, ʻto be slender (horse)’, are prob. another example of specific use of ʻcorrect, right, as it should be’, thus essentially = [v1]; cf. also †[v5]–†[v6] and †[v8]–†[v9].
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EtymArab
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