Arabic-L:LING:Etymolgy of zalameh query

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Thu 28 Mar 2013
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject:Etymolgy of zalameh query

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1)
Date: 28 Mar 2013
From:Stewart Felker <stewart.felker at gmail.com>
Subject:Etymolgy of zalameh query

I've been trying to find some more information on the word زلمة,
'man', present in quite a few modern Arabic dialects. There's
apparently an Aramaic zalamtha of the same meaning; but I haven't been
able to get past this. Qur'anic Arabic zlm 'to cut the loop of the
ear, to emaciate through hunger; arrows' obviously does not seem to be
related; nor Syriac zlm, 'to lead into error, to pervert, to be
inflected; deviated'. Is it possible that we are to imagine an
interchange between lamed and resh, and thus can see it as related to
Semitic words with initial zr-, like Akk. zaru 'begetter' and Hebrew
זרע 'offspring' - also meaning 'semen' (cf. Akk. zaraqu 'sprinkle
liquid', and Heb. זלח, of the same meaning)?

It has also been pointed out that, in some dialects, zalam[] has a
more specific meaning of 'pedestrian'; and it was proposed that, on
analogy with Ar. rajul (rjl 'to walk, to go by foot'), the original
meaning of zlm involves an "unknown person which came by foot," and
"[f]rom this appellation of a stranger the meaning 'man' is derived."
But this seems a bit of a stretch; plus I haven't been able to find
any other Semitic cognates with a meaning even remotely similar to
this.

Any help is appreciated!

Stewart Felker
University of Memphis

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