Summary
Loanwords in Classical Syriac Aramaic entered the language throughout different periods in the history of Mesopotamia. The Alexandrian and Seleucid rule along with interaction with their fellow citizens of the Greco-Roman world of the Fertile Crescent resulted in the adoption of numerous Greek words. The majority of these were nouns relating to Roman administration, such as officials, military, and law.[1] The largest group of loanwords come from Greek and is followed by Iranian loans, although words from Sumerian, Akkadian, and Latin are also passed on in varying degrees.[2] Several Hebrew loanwords exist (particularly religious terms). The Islamic Conquests changed the demographics of the empire and resulted in an influx of a new corpus of words from Arabic while life under the Seljuk, Ottoman, and Safavid empires introduced Turkic words to the language.
Language isolates edit
Sumerian edit
| Sumerian | Syriac | Pronunciation | Part of Speech | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E.GAL | ܗܝܟܠܐ | haykla | noun | "palace, temple" | |
| E.KUR | ܐܓܘܪܐ | aggura | noun | "pagan shrine, altar" | |
| agam (Akk. agammu) | ܐܓܡܐ | agma | noun | "meadow, swamp" | |
| addir (Akk. agāru) | ܐܓܪܐ | agra | noun | "hire, wages" | |
| azu (Akk. asû) | ܐܣܝܐ | asya | noun | "doctor (physician)" | |
| buranun (Akk. purattu | ܦܪܬ | prāṯ | noun | "Euphrates" | |
| idigna (Akk. idiglat | ܕܩܠܬ | deqlāṯ | noun | "Tigris" |
Semitic edit
Akkadian edit
| Akkadian | Syriac | Part of Speech | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nisannu | ܢܝܣܢ | proper noun | "April" | |
| Ayyaru | ܐܝܪ | proper noun | "May" | |
| Simānu | ܚܙܝܪܢ | proper noun | "June" | |
| Duʾūzu | ܬܡܘܙ | proper noun | "July" | |
| Abu | ܐܒ | proper noun | "August" | |
| Ulūlu | ܐܝܠܘܠ | proper noun | "September" | |
| Tašrītu | ܬܫܪܝܢ | proper noun | "October; November" | |
| Kislīmu | ܟܢܘܢ | proper noun | "December; January" | |
| Šabāṭu | ܫܒܛ | proper noun | "February" | |
| Addaru | ܐܕܪ | proper noun | "March" | |
| egubbu | ܓܝܒܐ | noun | "temple courtyard basin" | |
| inbu | ܐܒܐ | noun | "fruit" | |
| šaṭāru | ܫܛܪܐ | noun | "deed, document" | |
| ummānu | ܐܘܡܬܐ | noun | "nation" | |
| zīmu | ܙܝܘܐ | noun | "beauty" | |
| ziqtu | ܙܩܬܐ | noun | "goad, rod" | |
| abūtu | ܐܒܘܬܐ | noun | "rule, plumbline of an architect; goad for scraping plowshares; duct work" | |
| abullu | ܐܒܘܠܐ | noun | "city gate; portico" | |
| lilītu | ܠܠܝܬܐ | noun | "lilith; female demon" | |
| aban gabî | ܡܓܒܝܐ | noun | "alum" | |
| agāru | ܐܓܪܐ | noun | "hire, wages" | |
| agurru | ܐܓܘܪܐ | noun | "kiln-fired brick or tile" | |
| akukītu | ܟܘܟܝܬܐ | noun | "storm, whirlwind" | |
| muršānu | ܘܪܫܢܐ | noun | "wood dove, pigeon" | |
| amuriqānu | ܡܪܝܩܢܐ | noun | "jaundice" | |
| arad ekalli | ܐܪܕܟܠܐ | noun | "architect, builder" | |
| arru | ܐܪܐ | noun | "decoy bird" | |
| asītu | ܐܫܝܬܐ | noun | "wall, column" |
Arabic edit
| Arabic | Syriac | Part of Speech | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| بُومَة | ܒܘܡܐ | noun | "owl" |
Hebrew edit
| Hebrew | Syriac | Part of Speech | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הוֹשַׁע־נָא | ܐܘܫܥܢܐ | noun; interjection | "hosanna" |
Indo-European edit
Greek edit
Early Greek loans which were administrative in nature became obscure as society changed, although words adopted from translations of Christian and philosophical texts outlived the former and survive to the current day.
| Greek | Syriac | Part of Speech | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀράχνη | ܐܪܟܐܢܐ | noun | "spider" | |
| αἱρετικός | ܗܪܛܝܩܐ | noun | "heretic" | |
| τεταρταίος | ܛܗܛܐܪܛܗܘ ,ܛܗܛܪܛܗܐ ,ܛܗܛܐܪܛܗܐܘܣ | noun | "quartan" | |
| ὀροβάγχη | ܐܘܪܒܟܝܢ | noun | "broomrape" | |
| ἄγνος | ܐܓܢܘܣ | noun | "agnus" | |
| κέγχρος | ܩܢܟܢܘܢ | noun | "a gem" | |
| ܦܪܦܝܪܝܛܝܣ | noun | "porphyrite" | ||
| ܣܪܕܘܢ | noun | "sard, a kind of stone" | ||
| γαλακτίτης | ܓܠܐܩܛܝܛܝܣ | noun | "a type of milky stone" | |
| ἀπόφασις | ܐܦܘܦܣܝܣ | noun | "judgement" | |
| συλλογισμός | ܣܘܠܘܓܣܡܐ | noun | "syllogism" | |
| ܦܪܘܛܣܝܣ | noun | "premise, proposition, preposition" | ||
| ὕπατοι | ܐܘܦܛܝܢ | noun | "highest musical string" | |
| κιθάρα | ܩܝܬܪܐ | noun | "harp, lute" | |
| βάσις | ܒܣܣ | noun | "base, basis" | |
| ܩܘܒܘܣ | noun | "cube' | ||
| ἀμμωνιακόν | ܐܡܘܢܝܩܘܢ | noun | "gum ammoniac" | |
| ἀνδροδάμας | ܐܢܕܪܘܕܘܡܘܣ | noun | "arsenical pyrites" | |
| ἄσβεστος | ܐܣܒܣܛܘܢ | noun | "asbestos" | |
| ἀφρόνιτρον | ܐܦܘܢܝܛܪܘܢ | noun | "sodium carbonate" | |
| ἀρσενικόν | ܐܪܣܘܢܝܩܘܢ | noun | "arsenic sulfide, yellow ointment" | |
| ܡܓܢܝܣܝܐ | noun | "magnesium" | ||
| μολυβδήνη | mwlbdynˀ | noun | "galena" | |
| μίσυ | mysw | noun | "shoemaker's vitriol" | |
| νίτρων | nyṭrwn | noun | "nitre" | |
| σηρικόν | sryqwn | noun | "red ink, red lead" | |
| ψιμύθιον | psymtyn | noun | "white lead" | |
| κιννάβαρις | ܩܝܢܒܪܝܣ | noun | "cinnabar" | |
| ܩܠܡܝܐ | noun | "cadmia (ore of zinc)" | ||
| κρήτη | ܩܪܝܛ | noun | "chalk" | |
| ῥητίνη | ܪܛܝܢܐ | noun | "resin" | |
| όξεῖα | ܐܘܟܣܝܐ | noun | "sharp things (grammatical)" | |
| σχῆμα | ܐܣܟܡܐ | noun | "character, shape, form" | |
| ἄρθρον | ܐܪܬܪܘܢ | noun | "particle" | |
| ζεῦγος | ܙܘܓܐ | noun | "pair, conjugation, name of an accent" | |
| τάξις | ܛܟܣܐ | noun | "order, military company, apparatus" | |
| ἄργολας | ܐܪܓܘܠܐ | noun | "a type of snake" |
Latin edit
Latin loans appear to have been largely transmitted to Syriac via Greek. This is evident based on the Syriac orthography which demonstrates it was borrowed from the Greek form.[2][3]
| Latin | Syriac | Part of Speech | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| arena | ܐܪܐܢܐ | noun | "arena" | |
| comitatus | ܩܝܡܛܛܘܢ | noun | "retinue" | |
| palatium | ܦܠܛܝܢ | noun | "palace" | |
| curopalata | ܩܘܪܐܦܠܛܝܣ | noun | "prefect of the palace" | |
| caldarium | ܩܪܕܠܐ | noun | "pot" | |
| candela | ܩܢܕܝܠܐ | noun | "lamp, torch" | |
| carrarius | ܩܪܪܐ | noun | "driver" | |
| carruca | ܩܪܘܟܐ | noun | "chariot" | |
| dinarius | ܕܝܢܪܐ | noun | "gold dinarius" |
Iranian edit
| Iranian | Syriac | Part of Speech | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ܢܘܗܕܪܐ | noun | "commander" | ||
| ܓܙܐ | noun | "treasure" | ||
| ܐܗܡܪܐܓܪ | noun | "accountant" | ||
| daewa | ܕܝܘܐ | noun | "demon, devil" | |
| ܐܣܦܝܕܟܐ | noun | "white lead" | ||
| būrak | ܒܘܪܟܐ | noun | "borax" | |
| ܙܝܘܓ | noun | "mercury (element)" | ||
| ܙܪܢܝܟܐ | noun | "arsenic" | ||
| murtak | ܡܪܬܟܐ | noun | "dross of silver, litharge" |
Altaic edit
Turkic edit
| Turkic | Syriac | Part of Speech | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yarliǵ | ܝܪܠܝܟ | noun | "decree, mandate, yarligh" |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Aaron Butts (2014). Greek Loanwords in Syriac.
- ^ a b c d e f Aaron Butts (2016). Latin Words in Classical Syriac.
- ^ a b c d e f "Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project". Hebrew Union College.
- ^ Stephen A. Kaufman (1974). The Akkadian influences on Aramaic (PDF).
- ^ a b "The Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary". University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 2013-06-26. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
- ^ Heinrich Zimmern (1915). Akkadische Fremdwörter als Beweis für babylonischen Kultureinfluss.
- ^ Stephen A. Kaufman (1974). The Akkadian influences on Aramaic (PDF).
- ^ Claudia Ciancaglini (2008). Iranian Loanwords in Syriac. ISBN 9783895006241.
Further reading edit
- Ciancaglini, Claudia A. (2006). "SYRIAC LANGUAGE i. IRANIAN LOANWORDS IN SYRIAC". Encyclopaedia Iranica.