Bibliotheca Polyglotta

1a to set (broken bones); b to restore, bring back to normal; c to help back on o.’s feet, help up (e.g., one fallen into poverty); 2 to force, compel (s.o. ʕalà to do s.th.) – WehrCowan1976

conc

▪ Ultimately, both values of ǧabara are certainly connected, though the nature of this relation is not exactly clear. ClassAr lexicographers tend to derive [v2] ‘to force, compel’ (and ↗ǧabr ‘strength, power; ^†man’) from [v1] ‘to set (broken bones)’. But the evidence of Sem, where ‘(strong) man; strength, power, force’ prevails and possible reflections of *‘restoring, repairing, helping, making easy/comfortable’ are restricted to the EthSem context, seems to forbid such a derivation. In contrast, the authors of DRS think [v1] is from [v2], in which case the ‘setting of broken bones’ would be a specialization from ‘to force, compel’, namely *‘to force broken bones back into their original place/shape’. Though not inconceivable, such a dependence looks a bit unlikely, given the broad field of derivations, esp. in ClassAr (see HIST), building on the basic idea of ‘restoring, repair, helping’ – should all these have developed from the only instance where ‘to force, compel’ had taken a positive meaning, namely when interpreted as ‘setting broken bones’? Therefore, I [S.G.] am inclined to regard [v1] as the result of a development that may have started in a southern Arabian environment, where an original ↗ǧabala ‘to form, shape, build’ became confused with ǧabara ‘to force, compel’; in DaṯAr, ǧabar has even become identical with ǧabal ‘to form’ (Landberg1920). – Irrespective of these considerations, ultimately, both values prob. go back to a 2-cons. pre-protSem root nucleus *GB ‘to assemble, amass, bring together, pile up’ (cf. Ehret1995: *GB ‘great’); for more details, cf. ↗√ǦBR.
▪ For the use of [v1] in mathematics, cf. Lane ii 1865: ǧabr ‘(in computation:) addition of s.th. for the purpose of reparation; [hence: ] algebra, more commonly called al-ǧabr al-muqābalaẗ, perfective addition and compensation subtraction, or restoration and compensation (because of the frequency of these operations in the reduction of equations)’
▪ For derivations from [v1] as given in section HIST below, see ↗^†ǦBR_10.
▪ The L-stem ↗ǧābara ‘to treat with kindness, be nice to s.o.’ is possibly based on [v1.d] in an extended sense of ‘to make things easy/comfortable for s.o.’. – Cf., however, the expression ǧabara ḫāṭira-hū ‘to console, comfort, gratify, oblige s.o.; to treat (s.o.) in a conciliatory or kindly manner’ where the underlying notion also could be [v2] ‘to force, compel’. If ǧābara is from there, its original sense would be *‘to oblige s.o., force s.o. into a feeling of indebtedness (by treating him/her so friendly/nicely)’.
▪ For the semantic field around [v2], see ↗¹ǧabr and ↗ǧabbār.
▪ …

hist

▪ [v1] ^†ǧibāraẗ, ^†¹ǧabīraẗ (pl. ǧabāʔirᵘ) ‘bandage; truss; splints (pieces of wood with which bones are set)’
▪ [v1]: (BK1860, Hava1899:) ^†taǧabbara and ^†ĭǧtabara ‘to recover from illness; to recover from destitution, regain wealth; to be reinstated in a former state’, ^†ĭstaǧbara ‘to recover wealth’ (Hava1899); fig., ^†ʔabū ǧābir, ^†ǧābir b. ḥabbaẗ ‘bread’ (*‘what restores, sc. one’s constitution’
▪ ?[v1]: ^†¹ǧubār ‘1 vanité, mensonge; 2 ce qui est en pure perte; 3 sang versé et non vengé; 4 exempt, libre ou innocent de qc (BK1860)| thing of which no account, or for which no revenge or retaliation or mulct, is taken (Lane ii 1865) | erlaubtes Blutvergießen; Krieg; frei, quit (Wahrmund1886)’ – see ↗^†ǦBR_10.
▪ For [v2], see ↗¹ǧabr and ↗ǧabbār.
▪ …

cogn

▪ ↗¹ǧabr, ↗ǦBR, for [v1] perh. also ↗ǧabala, ↗ǦBL.
▪ Borg2021 #85 ǧ-b-r: Ar ǧabara ‘to be restored to a former state’, EgAr gabar ‘to repair’ (Spiro 1895: 92), Tangier žbaṛ ‘trouver’ (W. Marçais 1911: 247), HispAr ⟨anjabar⟩ ‘be restored’ (Corriente 1997: 88), S. Arabia ⟨ǧabar⟩ ‘contenter, satisfaire (chez tous les Bédouins d’Arabie)’ (Landberg 1909: 540), NYemAr ǧabar ‘beistehen, erhalten’ (Behnstedt 1992: 163), Kǝndērīb ǧabaṛ ‘zwingen’ (O. Jastrow 2005: 29), AlepAr ǧabar ‘obliger, assister qn dans le besoin’ (Barthélemy 1935–69: 101), DamAr ja žāber ‘o (Gott) der du Gedeihen gibst’ (Bergsträßer 1924: 107), LebAr jabar ‘faire avoir de bonheur par faire profiter de (fî)’; jabr ‘compensation, bonheur’ (Feghali 1935: 64; 1938: 589), PalAr žabar ‘to console’ (Piamenta 2000: 199); ǧabr ‘zufriedenstellen’ (Kampffmeyer 1 936: 10); maǧbūr il-ḫāṭir ‘höchst zufrieden’ (Schmidt & Kahle 1918 I 273), ḤassAr jbaṛ ‘trouver’ (Taine-Cheikh 1990: 147), Malta ⟨ġabar⟩ ‘cogliere, raccogliere, risarcire, ristaurare’ (Vassalli 1796: 207). | Outside Sem, the author compares Eg (Pyr) ḏbꜣ ‘ersetzen, vergelten | to restore, replace, repay’ (Wb V 555; Faulkner 1962: 321).
▪ …

disc

▪ See above, section CONC.
▪ …

west

▪ Engl algebra, from Ar al-ǧabr ‘the might, force, restoration’, vn. of ǧabara, vb. I, ‘to force, restore, set (bones)’ – Huehnergard2011.
▪ For related Engl Gabriel see ↗Ǧibrīl.
▪ …

deriv

NB: Given that the etymological relation between [v1] and [v2] is still unclear, this section lists derivations from both, but tries to keep them apart for systematic reasons:

[v1]
►ǧabbara, vb. II, to set (broken bones): D-stem, ints.
►taǧabbara, vb. V, 1a see [v2]; 2 to be set (broken bones): tD-stem, self-ref.
►ĭnǧabara, vb. VII, to be mended, repaired, restored: N-stem, pass.
►¹ǧabr, n., 1 setting (of broken bones); 2 see [v2]: vn. I | ʕilm al-ǧabr, algebra
►ǧabrī, adj., 1 algebraic; 2 see [v2]: nsb-adj. of ↗¹ǧabr in the sense of ‘restoring, repairing’
►ǧibāraẗ, n.f., (art of) bonesetting: vn. I
►ǧabīraẗ and ǧibāraẗ, pl. ǧabāʔirᵘ, n.f., splint (surg.): quasi-PP I.f.
►taǧbīr, n., taǧbīr al-ʕiẓām, orthopedics: vn. II
►ǧābir and muǧabbir, n., bonesetter: PA I and PA II

[v2]
►ʔaǧbara, vb. IV, 1 to force, compel (s.o. ʕalà to do s.th.); 2 to hold sway (ʕalà over): *Š-stem, ints.
►taǧabbara, vb. V, 1a to show o.s. proud, haughty; b to act strong, throw one’s weight around; c to show o.s. strong or powerful, demonstrate one’s strength or power; 2 see [v1]: tD-stem, self-ref. | taǧabbara ḷḷāhu bi-bni-ka, God has demonstrated His power on your son, i.e., He has taken him unto Himself
►¹ǧabr, n., 1 see [v1]; 2a force, compulsion; b coercion, duress; c power, might; d (predestined, inescapable) decree of fate; ǧabrᵃⁿ forcibly, by force: vn. I, but perh. the etymon proper, see also ↗s.v. | yawm ǧabr al-baḥr, a local holiday of Cairo (the day on which, in former times, the water of the Nile was channeled into the now-abandoned ↗ḫalīǧ, or City Canal, thus marking the beginning of the irrigation season)
►ǧabrī, adj., 1 see [v1]; 2 compulsory, forced: nsb-adj. of ↗¹ǧabr
►ǧabarī, adj./n., 1a adherent of the doctrine of predestination and the inescapability of fate; b fatalist: nsb-adj., from ↗¹ǧabr (2.d)
►ǧabariyyaẗ, n.f., 1a an Islamic school of thought teaching the inescapability of fate; b fatalism: abstr. formation in -iyyaẗ, from ↗¹ǧabr (2.d)
►^BP#4246ǧabbār, pl. -ūn, ǧabābirᵘ, ǧabābiraẗ, 1 n., a giant; colossus; b tyrant, oppressor; 2 adj., a almighty, omnipotent (God); b gigantic, giant, colossal, huge; 3 Orion (astron.): ints. formation | ǧabbār al-ḫuṭwaẗ, striding powerfully, taking huge strides
►ǧabarūt, n.f., 1a omnipotence; b power, might; 2 tyranny: n. formation along the FaʕaLūt pattern
►ǧibriyāʔᵘ, n., pride, haughtiness: see ↗s.v.
►ʔiǧbār, n., compulsion, coercion: vn. IV
►ʔiǧbārī, adj., forced, forcible, compulsory, obligatory: nsb-adj., from vn. IV | al-taǧnīd al-ʔiǧbārī, compulsory recruitment; military conscription
►maǧbūr and muǧbar, adj., forced, compelled: PP I and PP IV
►Ǧabraʔīlᵘ, Ǧibrīlᵘ, Gabriel: see ↗s.v.

[v1] or [v2]?
►ǧabara ḫāṭira-hū, expr., to console, comfort, gratify, oblige s.o.; to treat (s.o.) in a conciliatory or kindly manner
►ǧābara, vb. III, to treat with kindness, with friendliness, be nice (to s.o.): L-stem, assoc., see also ↗s.v.

For other values attached to the root, cf. ↗¹ǧabr, ↗ǧabbār, ↗ǧābara, ↗ǧibriyāʔᵘ, and ↗Ǧibrīlᵘ as well as, for the overall picture, root entry ↗√ǦBR.

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