The Etymology of Gamma in Classical Greek:
The Etymology of ‘gamma’ in Ancient Greek.
In Classical Greek, the third letter of the alphabet is:
or:
or:
γάμμα
or:
‘gámma’
or:
‘gamma’
. This Ancient-Greek letter is said to be cognate with the Hebrew letter:
or:
ג֣ׅימֵל
or:
‘gíymēl‘
or:
‘gimel’
. An ancestor of Hebrew’s, Phonecian, styled this letter:
The Mathematician, and Philosopher, Bertrand Russel, asserted that the ‘gimel,’ as found in the Hebrew and Phonecian alphabets, represents a Camel. Phonecian – especially – is a pictographic language, and this is how he interpreted the Hebrew and Phonecian letters. However, according to the Wikipedia article concerning this topic, this interpretation of his is contested.
In Classical Hebrew, the word:
גָּמָל
or:
‘gāmāl’
or:
‘gamal’
, means:
‘camel’
. According to the Wiktionary concerning the English word:
‘camel’
, even this – which is almost homophonic with the Hebrew word, ‘gamal’ – is derived from a proto-semitic ancestor of Hebrew’s.
The 1st-century A.D. Historian, Flavius Josephus, writes about a historical figure called:
Judas of Gamala
. Gamala or Gamla[1] or:
גַּמְלָא
remains a town – it is situated in the Golan Heights – today. According to the Wikipedia article concerning this Ancient City, the name, ‘Gamla’ means:
The Camel
.
[1]. The Hebrew word גַּמְלָא has a schwa beneath the Mem. This schwa can sometimes be pronounced as an obscure vowel, i.e. /ə/ and sometimes it is not pronounced at all. Hence, the two variant transliterations: ‘Gamala’ and ‘Gamla.’ Interestingly, the name of the I.P.A. symbol /ə/ is ‘schwa.’
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