▪ [gnrl] There are at least three main values in the root that one will find hard to connect:
- (a) *‘to become visible, flash’ [≙ v1];
- (b) *‘to scorch, singe, sear, burn, parch, desiccate, wither, lose weight, get thinner’ [≙ v2]; and
- (c) *‘board, tablet, plank; shoulder blade’ [= v3]. This is the only value that has cognates in Sem; in Ar, it may be a borrowing from Aram.
The first two have developed a fairly high degree of differentiation in their respective semantic fields and are thus prob. rather old and genuine; all the more strange it seems that they do not seem to have counterparts in Sem (though perh. outside, in Eg). Gabal2012: 2013 suggests a derivation of all from a basic notion of *‘breadth, evenness and dryness or compactness in s.th.’, exemplarily represented in [v3]
lawḥ ‘board, tablet, plank’. For, him, ‘dryness’ gave ‘thirst, desiccation, withering’, while ‘breadth’, he says, implies a higher degree of ‘visibility’. The strength of this argument would be the fact that only ‘board, tablet, plank’ seems to have a deeper Sem dimension; on the other hand, the theory appears to be rather far-fetched. Cf., however, a value of
lawḥ (not mentioned by Gabal2012 but) given by ClassAr lexicographers, namely ‘tout ce qui, par sa surface plate et polie, reflète la lumière’ (BK1860) – here, s.th. with a flat, even, polished surface (as would be a ‘board, tablet, plank’) is combined with the reflexion of light, and the latter may look as if it could be derived from the former (see “a”). – Likewise, (a)[≙ v1] *‘to shine etc.’ and (b)[≙ v2] *‘to scorch, singe, sear, burn, parch, desiccate, wither, etc.’ may be connected via
†[v8]
lāḥ ‘eggs found unsuitable for hatching after having “X-rayed” (i.e., candled) them by holding them against the sun-light’, which combines the notions of ‘shining, light’ and ‘desiccation, emaciation, shrinking (> infertility?)’ etc.
▪ [v1] ‘to appear, be(come) visible; to shine, flash, glimmer, sparkle; to seem, appear’: etymology obscure. An essential element in the original semantics seems to be the notion of surprise and speed. – Borg2021 suggests comparison with Eg
ꜣḫ (
Urk. IV, 18th Dyn.) ‘schön, herrlich, trefflich, nützlich sein | glorious, splendid’ (Brockelmann 1932: 100 | Faulkner 1962: 4);
ꜣḫ.t ‘Sonnenglanz’;
ꜣḫ.t (NK) ‘Auge, besonders vom Auge der Sonne’ (
Wb I 13, 17). – For Gabal2012’s hypothesis (“[v1]<[v3]”), see previous paragraph. – It is tempting to regard the meaning of [v3]
lawḥ ‘board, tablet, plank’ registered by ClassAr lexicographers (in the translation of BK1860) as ‘tout ce qui, par sa surface plate et polie, reflète la lumière’ as a semantic bridge that could justify the semantic transition *‘board, plank > to be(come) visible, appear’; but this would need to be corroborated by broader and more reliable evidence—after all, the semantic “bridge” may be a homogenizing construction made by lexicographers to explain diversity within the root and give it more coherence. – [v1] related to [v2] via
†[v8]? See above, s.v. [gnrl]. – [v1] is likely at the origin of values [v4]–
†[v7], perh. also
†[v8] – see below.
▪ [v2] ‘to wither, singe, parch, scorch; to tan’: etymology obscure. Semantic vicinity to
†[v9]
†²
lūḥ ‘thirst’ is obvious, but does not help either, as also the latter is without cognates in Sem and outside. In some dictionaries, ‘to thirst’ is given as the first meaning of the corresponding vb.
†lāḥa (Hava, Steingass, etc.). –
†[v10] ‘to be afraid, frightened, shrink back, blush’ could be fig. use of [v2]. – [v2] related to [v1] ‘to appear, shine, flash’ via
†[v8] ‘candled eggs’? See above, s.v. [gnrl] and [v1].
▪ [v3] ‘board, tablet, plank, etc.’: According to Jeffrey1939 borrowed from Aram
lūḥā ‘id.’, but the word is widely attested in Sem (Akk, Ug, Hbr, Aram, Soq), so it may be genuine, directly from Sem *
lawḥ ‘board, table, plank’. – A relation to [v1] ‘to appear, shine, flash’ has been suggested by Gabal2012 (see above, [gnrl] and [v1]), but this is little convincing. – The extended meaning ‘shoulder blade’ gave adj.s like
†ʔalwaḥᵘ and
†milwāḥ, both signifying s.o. ‘having broad bones, shoulder blades, tall’.
▪ [v4] ‘program, project; bill, motion; order, decree, edict, regulation, rule’: Formed on the
FāʕiLaẗ pattern,
lāʔiḥaẗ is evidently a PA I.f, most likely from [v1]
lāḥa, thus meaning *‘the flashing one’. The connection between the modern meanings and the basic *‘becoming visible, appearing, flashing up’ becomes clear in the light of the D-stem,
lawwaḥa ‘(*to let appear, let flash up >) to flourish, brandish, swing, wave, make a sign, signal’ (also with s.th. to eat or drink, to feed a child) and
†[v7]
milwāḥ ‘lure, decoy’ (< *s.th. waved with to attract attention, lure, entice). A
lāʔiḥaẗ is thus, originally, *‘s.th. flashing up, giving an idea of s.th., sketch, outline’.
▪
†[v5] ‘air, atmosphere | espace entre le ciel et la terre’ : relation to [v1] not immediately obvious, but rather likely; perh. the layer of the air’s *‘flickering’.
▪
†[v6] ‘polishing agent for mirrors’ : with all probability related to [v1] ‘to shine, sparkle, gleam, glisten, glitter, etc.’
▪
†[v7] ‘the lure; owl used for decoy shooting; decoy (bird)’ : based on [v1] as *‘s.th. waved/signalled with (< made to shine, etc.) to attract attention and entice/lure s.o./s.th.’ (into a trap etc.). – Cf. D-stem
lawwaḥa etc., as mentioned above, sub [v4].
▪
†[v8] ‘unfertilized eggs | œuf qui ayant été miré, est rebuté comme n’étant pas bon pour l’éclosion’ :
†lāḥ : could serve as a semantic bridge betw. [v1] and [v2], since, accord. to ClassAr lexicographers, ‘unfertilized’ is rather *‘rejected as unsuitable for hatching after having “X-rayed” (candled) [the eggs] by holding [them] against the sun-light’ – here, the notions of [v1] ‘shining, light, etc.’ and [v2] ‘desiccation, emaciation, etc. (> infertility?)’ seem to overlap.
▪
†[v9] ‘thirst’ : Alongside with the n.
†²
lūḥ, many dictionaries list ‘to thirst’ as one of the primary meanings of the vb.
lāḥa. The value is obviously related to [v2] ‘to scorch, burn, desiccate, cause to wither, lose weight, get thinner, etc.’.
▪
†[v10] ‘to be afraid (
min of s.o.), frightened, be on one’s guard (
min against), shrink back, recoil (
min from s.th.), blush (
min at a word)’ :
†ʔalāḥa is prob. fig. use of an
ʔa caus. formed from the G-stem
lāḥa – but which one: [v1] ↗¹
lāḥa or ↗²
lāḥa? If from [v1], the ‘being afraid, shrinking back, etc.’ would have to be seen as result (?) of s.th. appearing, shining up (suddenly, and hence frightening?); if from [v2], it could be interpreted as fig. use of the latter (‘to be afraid’ as ‘to wither, become thin, shrink, etc.’. Neither of the two options seems particularly convincing, as pattern IV verbs usually express caus. meaning. Nor is there a n. in sight from which it could be denominative.
▪ …
EtymArab
ʔ
