A Comparative Lexical Study of Qur?anic Arabic

550 CHAPTER FOUR
xxx. Arab, 'istafazza - 17: 103 "So he resolved to remove them
from the face of the earth. . . .": Ge., Syr., Aram., Heb.: Although
all cognates share a general notion of 'agility' (with connotations
varying from positive in Ge. and neutral in NWS), in Arab, the
prevalent sense is marked by negative psychological connotations,
namely 'excited, frightened, disturbed and unsettled agility'. 111 The
verbal form in Ge. is augmented by /r/.
xxxi. Arab, fasaqa - 18: 50 ". . . and he broke the Command of
his Lord. . . ."; 10: 33 "Thus is the Word of thy Lord proved true
against those who rebel. . . ."; 17: 16 "... among them who are given
the good things of this life and yet transgress. . . ."; 32: 20 "As to
those who are rebellious and wicked, their abode will be the Fire. . . .":
Syr., Aram., Heb.: The NWS cognates correspond to Arab. I. 'to
come forth (fresh, ripe date) from its integument'. 112 However the
general sense of the majority of the Arab, forms implies negative
connotations on the moral plane. Syr. 'to excommunicate' comes
very close to Arab. Akk. pasdqu 'eng, beschwerlich sein, werden' may
be semantically related.
xxxii. Arab, fasila - 3: 152 ". . .were about to annihilate your
enemy—until ye flinched and fell to disputing. . . ."; 3: 122 "Remember
two of your parties meditated cowardice; but Allah was their protector.
. . .": Akk. pasdlu: The basic meaning in Akk. has to do
with 'bending, turning (round), curving'. This could have been the
original basic meaning of the root which later became specialized in
Arab., taking on psychological connotations. However, the lack of
lexical evidence from other areas of Semitic precludes any definitive
claims about the semantic evolution of this lexeme. 113
xxxiii. Arab, qaraa - 16: 98 "When thou dost read the Qur'dn,
seek Allah's protection. . . .": SS, NWS, Ug., Akk.: Arab, is unique
among the other Semitic languages in giving up the sense 'to call,
invoke' and in its restriction of the root to 'reading, reciting'.
xxxiv. Arab, qasiyy — 19: 22 "So she conceived him, and she
retired with him to a remote place.": Ge., NWS: The original sense
'to break, break off, cut' assumed spatial connotations in Arab, as
See Lane 2392.
Lane 2397.
Cf. Aram, ffsal 'to cut, hew, dig' and Heb. pasal 'to hew'.