Related shifts
| ID | Meaning 1 | Direction | Meaning 2 |
| ACCEPTED Realization 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Derivation | |
| Language | Amharic | |
| Lexeme 1 | məraḳ | |
| Lexeme 2 | märräḳä | |
| Meaning 1 | saliva, spittle | |
| Direction | → | |
| Meaning 2 | to bless, give benediction | märraqi one who blesses, one who gives the farewell admonishment (at a wedding, usually an elder relative) |
| Reference | AED: 180 CDG: 617-18 | |
| Comment | Cf. also Soq. meraḳ ‘saliva’. Amh. wärräḳä 'to spit' is derived from Gez. waraḳa ‘to spit’ (CDG 618). Note that from məraḳ 'spittle' a denominative *mrq 'to bless' is used in Tna., Amh., Gur. märräḳä 'to bless’, Arg. merräḳä ‘to bless’, Gaf. mirräḳä ‘to bless’ (CDG 618). Amh. verb märräḳä also can mean 'to spit' (not the basic meaning) (AED 180). This comes from the practice all over Ethiopia of spitting with the purpose of blessing (CDG 617). In Or. tufa 'blessing of good wishes by means of saliva blown lightly towards the face or object to be blessed’ (Appleyard 57). The root reconstructed *rḳ 'to spit' (SED I No. 81ᵥ) as a biconsonantal element with various triconsonantizing augments in individual languages. |
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