Wednesday, 9 April 2008

pne: A picture of a plush toy, halfway between a duck and a platypus, with a green body and a yellow bill and feet. (Default)

Apparently, Hebrew Amen ("so be it") and Maltese emmen ("to believe") are related, both going back to the root 'mn meaning (in Hebrew, according to Wikipedia): to be firm, confirmed, reliable, faithful, have faith, believe.

(And Mammon may also be related, possibly from *ma'mon =? "security, deposit.)

Emmen is an interesting word in Maltese because it's one of the very few verbs of Semitic origin beginning with a vowel. (I'm not sure how many there are, but ISTR reading that there were only a handful.)

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pne: A picture of a plush toy, halfway between a duck and a platypus, with a green body and a yellow bill and feet. (Default)
Philip Newton

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