Bibliotheca Polyglotta

▪ ‘To twist tight, braid, plait’ is the “roof” value from which most other values in the root ↗√ǦDL can be thought to derive. It unites two basic notions which in other Sem languages 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 ‘strength, firmness’ can be found also in other roots, such as ↗√BRM, ↗√KBR, ↗√KRB, ↗√MSD, ↗√MRː(MRR), ↗√ʕSD, ↗√ʕQD, ↗√FTL, and ↗√QWY. In a similar vein, also ‘strong’ and ‘great, big, large’ are connected not only in √ǦDL but also in ↗√ʕẒM.
▪ This entry treats only ‘twisting’ proper (more precisely, the “remnants” of this value that have survived into MSA). For the wider semantic spectrum, see root entry ↗√ǦDL as well as individual entries ↗ǧadal (with the related complex of *‘quarreling, wrangling, fighting; arguing, debating, etc.’ – the most prominent complex in MSA), ↗¹miǧdāl (with *‘strength, firmness’) and ↗ǧadwal (prob. a specific interpretation of ‘twisting’, namely the “intertwining” of trickles of water, etc., forming a rivulet, hence also the intertwining of lines in a table, chart, etc.).
▪ 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.
▪ As the list of derivatives (see below) shows, there are only few items left in MSA that still display the original idea of ‘twisting tight, braiding, plaiting’. ClassAr contained a larger variety, including, e.g., ^†ǧadīl(aẗ) ‘girdle, ornamented belt; menstruous woman (who wears that type of belt)’ and ^†ǧadīlaẗ ‘trap for catching pigeons, bird’s cage (made from twigs by “weaving/twisting” them)’ (hence also the ^†ǧaddāl ‘trap\cage-maker’). The way s.th. was twisted could also take the more general meaning of ‘way, mood’ or ‘habit; nature; determination of the mind’ (= the way s.o. is “knitted”, his/her mental structure). Perh. also a type of falcon or hawk was called ^†ʔaǧdal on account of its well-shaped appearance (alternatively, due to its strength).
▪ Metaphorical use of *‘nicely twisted, well-knit’ has survived into MSA in the PP I, maǧdūl, in the meaning ‘slender and trim, shapely’ (in ClassAr also ‘graceful, handsome’).

1. Accord. to Zimmern1914: 35, Akk gidl- may be an Aramaism.

hist

▪ Earliest attestations of ‘twisting’ and directly related values accord. to DHDA (as of 13Jul2021) (for attestations of other values see “root” entry ↗√ǦDL; particular sub-values: for ‘quarelling, disputing’ see ↗ǧadal; for ‘strength, firmness’ see ↗miǧdāl; for ‘rivulet; table, chart’ see ↗ǧadwal):

538 ǧadīl, 631 ǧadīlaẗ ‘twisted rope’
573 ^†ǧadīl(aẗ) ‘girdle, ornamented belt (wišāḥ)’
631 ǧadl (vn. I) ‘to twist strongly (a rope)’
643 maǧdūl ‘bien tourné, beautiful’
791 ^†ǧadīlaẗ ‘trap for catching pigeons, bird’s cage’

cogn

▪ All values: DRS 2 (1994) #GDL-1 Akk gidl- ‘cordon torsadé, cordelière’;¹ Hbr gādal ‘tresser’, *gādil ‘tresse’; Aram gᵊdal ‘tresser’, gᵊdiltā ‘tresse’; Phlv gdyl ‘cordon’; Mand gdal ‘tresser’, gdalta ‘tresse, guirlande’; nSyr gʸädil ‘tresser’; Ar ǧadala ‘tresser une corde, la rendre solide en la tordant fortement’; Soq gadl ‘tresse’; Te gädlä ‘tresser les cheveux, coiffer’. – Ug gdl, Hbr gādōl ‘grand’, gādāl, Aram gᵊdal ‘être grand’; Mand *gdil ‘être exalté’; Ar ǧadala ‘être ferme, solide; jeter à terre, terrasser’, ǧādil ‘grand, adulte’, ǧādala ‘lutter, se quereller’; Soq gódil ‘être fort’; Gz gadala ‘être fort, l’emporter sur; tuer’, gadl ‘combat; exercice ascétique’, gadalā ‘cadavre, charogne’; Te gadälä, Tña Amh tägaddälä ‘lutter’; Amh gäddälä, *gällä ‘tuer’, gäla ‘corps’. – Ug mgdl, Hbr migdāl, Moab mgdlt (pl.), Aram migdᵊlā, Syr magdᵊlā, Ar miǧdal, LiḥAr Min mgdl ‘tour, château fort’. -2-3 […].
▪ …

1. Accord. to Zimmern1914: 35 perh. from Aram.

disc

▪ See above, section CONC.

west

–

deriv

►ǧaddala, vb. II, to braid, plait (s.th.): D-stem, ints.

►ǧadīlaẗ, pl. ǧadāʔilᵘ, n.f., 1a braid, plait; b tress: quasi-PP, f.
►maǧdūl, adj., 1a tightly twisted; b braided, plaited; c interwoven, intertwined (tress of hair); 2 slender and trim, shapely (e.g., leg): PP I.

For the related complex ‘to quarrel, wrangle; to argue, debate, dispute, contest’, see ↗ǧadal. For other values attached to the “root”, cf. ↗¹miǧdāl and ↗ǧadwal (ǦDWL) as well as, for the whole picture, root entry ↗√ǦDL.

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