Re: ODOR and ODIUM

Vincent, thanks for posting:
>> Odor (« smell ») and odium have no etymological relationship.
According to Ernout and Meillet, _Dictionnaire étymologique de la
langue latine_, « Le rapprochement entre odor et odium n'est qu'une
plaisanterie » ("a pun, a joke"). <<

That made me realize the likely origin of the expression
"There's something rotten in Denmark."
The question, of course, is: why Denmark ?

Using 3 for the letter aiyin, a common Hebrew equivalent of "odium"
is SHa:M Ra3a, literally "bad/evil name/reputation". But the shin had
a dental D/T-sound and the aiyin had a velar G/K-sound; therefore,
SHa:M Ra3a sounded like [D]MR[K], hence Denmark.

A similar explanation accounts for the English name for a pirate flag:
The Jolly Roger. The Hebrew equivalent is DeGeL Ra3a, literally
"evil flag". The Arabic parallel for a Hebrew G-sound is usually a soft
G
or J-sound. So, that phrase sounded like D-J-L-R-G when shouted by
an Arab seaman. To an English ear, that sounds like Th' Jolly Roger.

Compare the Latin genus for crab: Brachyura and Hebrew BeReKH
Ra3a, literally "evil leg", referring to its pincer. Crab is a reversal
of
Brach- or BeReKH. The names of dangerous creatures are often
reversed across languages.

Thanks, Vincent.

izzy
Israel "izzy" Cohen
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BPMaps/

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