Re: The case of the Hebrew word for "oxygen"...

Daniel al-Autistiqui wrote:

# A curious counterexample is the modern Hebrew word for oxygen,
# humtsan, which was coined long after Lavoisier's mistake was
# corrected, but perpetuates the misnomer, being derived from hamets
# "sour". Surely the language institute might have thought of naming
it
# for fire instead!

I personally think it's silly to coin (say) a Hebrew word on the model
of equivalents in European languages, when the European words are in
fact based on long-obsolete ideas about the concept that they denote.

In this particular case, if it's as you describe it, I happen to think you're right. When a designation has been known to be misnomer for an extended period of time, it doesn't seem justified to calque it - especially since the people involved should know what they were doing. Otoh, the modern hebrew word may have been in oral use before. Or whoever coined it didn't know much about chemistry and built it just by analogy.
--
António Marques
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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Sauerstoff, sauer, Stoff
    ... corrected, but perpetuates the misnomer, being derived from hamets ... Surely the language institute might have thought of naming it ... *Latin* word for sour). ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: Sauerstoff, sauer, Stoff
    ... corrected, but perpetuates the misnomer, being derived from hamets ... Surely the language institute might have thought of naming it ... *Latin* word for sour). ...
    (alt.usage.english)