Re: what is etymology? (linguistics and biology)

Homo, human being, a humming animal ...

Latin homo means human being, man, in the plural also
people. This word, I believe, might go back to a very early
time, even to Homo erectus, a hunter who originated some
1,600,000 years ago in Africa, left this continent for Asia
and Europe, and populated Indonesia some 400,000 years
ago by crossing a never less than 17 (seventeen) kilometers
wide deep sea strait on bamboo rafts. All but a primitive being,
Homo erectus. Now picture a group of, say, eight hunters A-H
walking in a line, from the left to the right side, looking out for
game, also watching out for lions and other dangerous animals:

H G F E D C B A

The leading hunter A will look ahead and scan the area
in front of him. The hunters B D F may scan the area to
the right side; the hunters C E G may scan the area to
the left side; while hunter H at the end of the marching line
periodically scans the area behind them. When all is okay,
hunter H makes a humming sound: Mmmmm ... Hunter G
hears it and hums himself, the same for the hunters F E D
C B, whose humming reaches hunter A in front of the line.
As long as the periodical hummings reach hunter A, all is
well. If the humming sets out, something has gone wrong.
Other humming signals, for example Mm Mmmmm Mm ...
might convey precise messages, for example game sighted
to the left side. And so on. Humming might also have been
used as signals when the whole tribe wandered from one
to another area. Humming is easy, costs little energy, is
both assuring and self-assuring, and may well have been
melodical, thus providing entertainment on a long march.
Neanderthals had high and melodic voices, might also have
been humming, if not yodeling ...

Latin homo for man, human being, may then have been
the humming one, the humming animal. Consider the following
words in ancient Greek: homadeo for I make noise, shout,
homados for noise, bustle, multitude (many people), homaios
for consanguine, brother, sister, homaichmia for alliance,
homaichmos for ally, brother in arms, homarteo for I accompany,
meet, do the same, homatae for together, at the same time,
homaulos for united, homaereo for I gather, meet, homiladou
for in swarms, in hordes, homileo for I gather, meet, negotiate,
fight, occupy myself with something, homilaetaes for follower,
intimus, friend, pupil, homilos for a gathering of people, swarm,
mass, a gathering of warriors, noise of a battle, homoethaes for
the same tribe, homoios for equal, together, united, homologeo
for I use the same language (...), homophoneo for I speak the
same language, litterally I produce the same sounds (...),
homoo for I unite, omphae for voice, sound, speech, oracle.

All these words may come from the hypothetical very early
humming language, including homoios for equal, together,
united, since the members of a hunting expedition as
explained above were required to have about the same
strength and skills and good eyes and attentive mind,
so they had to be equal in many resepcts. A chain is
only as strong as the weakest link, a saying goes.

Homo, the humming animal, whose language emanated
from a very early way of communicating via humming ...

A remainder of the hypothetical humming Mm of the very
early human language, I believe, is present in the English
words _my_ and _myself_ for I (ego), in French _moi_ for
je, keeping a memory of the humming Mmmm that marked
presence: here I am, stille there, everything fine, you all can
go on ...

Regards Franz Gnaedinger www.seshat.ch



COR ROC, CRO ORC, RCO OCR --- young hearts

COR --- young people, darlings; ancient Greek korae
for girl, virgin, young woman, daughter, doll, apple of
the eye, koros for young man, son, youthful, vigorous,
Latin cor for heart, soul, feeling, courage, reason,
insight, individuum, person, cor meum for my heart
(my darling)

ROC --- the way young people behave, in puberty,
when falling in love, when quarreling, when fighting
over a woman; ancient Greek rochtheo for I rustle,
roar, buzz, race, effervesce, rogalos for torn apart
(by inner conflicts, then, as in puberty), English
ruction (unexplained until now), ruckus, rock and
roll, the agitated and pulsating music of my youth
(rock in rock and roll may fill a vacant place in
the holographic memory of early language, perhaps
via a rolling boulder, rock, late Latin roccus for rock)

CRO --- to beat, knock, a young heart pounding,
a quick pulse; ancient Greek krouo for I beat, push,
knock, krouros for source, Latin cruo for blood

ORC --- instinct, impulse, drive, desire, passion,
when the heart is beating fast, when young people
blush, when the sexual organs swell; ancient Greek
orgao for I brim (over), swell, desire vehemently,
organon in the sense of organ (in the sense of tool
an 'organ' beyond the body)

RCO --- being active, youthful and passionate
activities; ancient Greek rhezo for I do

OCR --- arousal, easily arousable, keen on; ancient
Greek orkioeis for sharp (sharp in English also has
the meaning of keen and eager, scharf in German
can also mean horny, randy, juicy, hot), okriaomai
for getting angry, akros for pointed, sharp, uppermost,
supreme, excelling.



GYN NYG, NGY YGN, YNG GNY --- woman
MAN NAM, MNA ANM, NMA AMN --- man

Last year I gave GYN for woman, and MHAYN for
the right hand. This year I go for the permutations
of GYN, while simplifying mhayn to MAN.

GYN --- woman; ancient Greek gynae for woman

NYG --- night, time one spends with a woman,
when the woman has the say; ancient Greek nyx
for night, Nyx was a powerful goddess, alter ego
of Gaia, her priestesses gave oracles, Latin niger
for black (color of the night, nectar for something
sweet (a drink, a fragrance)

NGY --- pretty and clean; ancient Greek naegateos
for clean, splendid, nakae for fleece (a fleece one
wears for cloth, or a fleece one sleeps upon)

YGN --- hygiene; from Greek

YNG --- a pregnant woman; ancient Greek enegkein
for to bear, bring, aorist of phero for I bring, having
brought, a woman who has brought a child into the
world, then, so GYN may have been a woman in
general, but more specifically a bearing woman or
a mother

GNY --- child; ancient Greek gnaesios for legitimate
(child), genuine, true (consider the old saying of truth
being the child of time)

MAN --- hand, especially the right hand, pars pro toto
for a man; Latin manus for hand, English hand for
a helping hand, a worker

NAM --- name, someone worth being named and
remembered by a name; Latin nomen for name

MNA --- virility; ancient Greek menos for (strong)
desire, eagerness, will, purpose, intention, anger,
vitality, strength

ANM --- to carry out, effect, case, bring about;
ancient Greek anymi anuo with the same meanings

NMA --- to make rules; ancient Greek nomaion for
custom, usus

AMN --- to sacrifice; ancient Greek amnion for
the sacrifical bowl

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Homo sapiens.
    ... Latin homo means human being, man, in the plural human ... The leading hunter A will look ahead and scan the area ... C, B, whose humming reaches hunter A in front of the line. ... , homophoneo for I speak the same language, literally ...
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  • Re: what is etymology? (linguistics and biology)
    ... noph snow, ancient Greek niphas for snow storm, ... Latin securus for safe ... The leading hunter A will look ahead and scan the area ... whose humming reaches hunter A in front of the line. ...
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    ... in french the first persons of sing. ... In my opinion, Homo erectus, Homo Heidelbergensis ... and early Homo sapiens sapiens used humming sounds ... to time they give a humming signal. ...
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