to spit
→
to bless
1 realization
Related shifts
ID | Meaning 1 | Direction | Meaning 2 |
ACCEPTED Realization 1 | ||
---|---|---|
Type | Polysemy | |
Language | Amharic | |
Lexeme | märräḳä | |
Meaning 1 | to spit | |
Direction | → | |
Meaning 2 | to bless, give benediction | |
Reference | : 180 | |
Comment | Cf. also Amh., Soq. məraḳ ‘saliva’. This comes from the practice all over Ethiopia of spitting with the purpose of blessing. 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. |