Reconstruction:Proto-West Semitic/malʔak-

This Proto-West Semitic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-West Semitic

Etymology

From *ma- (agent prefix) +‎ *lʔak- (“to send”).^[1]^[2]

Noun

*malʔak-^[1]

messenger

Descendants

Central Semitic:
- Northwest Semitic:
  - Amorite:
    - → Old Babylonian: 𒈠𒆷𒆪 (ma-la-ku /⁠mālaku⁠/)^[3]
  - Aramaic:
    Biblical Aramaic: מַלְאֲכָא (malʾăḵā)
    Imperial Aramaic: 𐡌𐡋𐡀𐡊 (mlʾk)
    Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡋࡊࡀ (malka), ࡌࡋࡀࡊࡀ (mlaka), ࡌࡀࡋࡀࡊࡀ (malaka)
    Classical Syriac: ܡܠܐܟܐ (malʾăḵā)
    → Malayalam: മാലാഖ (mālākha)
  - Canaanite:
    - Hebrew: מַלְאָךְ (mal'ákh, malʾāḵ)
      - Yiddish: מלאך (malekh)
      - → Ancient Greek: ἄγγελος (ángelos, “angel”) (semantic loan) (see there for further descendants)
      - → Kermanic: (learned)
        Isfahani: malāx
      - → Tat: малах (learned)
    - Phoenician: 𐤌𐤋𐤀𐤊 (mlʾk)
  - Ugaritic: 𐎎𐎍𐎀𐎋 (mlảk /⁠malʾaku⁠/)
- Old South Arabian:
  - Sabaean: 𐩣𐩡𐩱𐩫 (mlʾk)^[4]
Ethiopian Semitic: (possibly borrowed from Aramaic^[5])
- Amharic: መልአክ (mälʾäk)
- Ge'ez: መልአክ (mälʾäk)
  - → Arabic: مَلْأَك (malʔak), مَلَك (malak)
    - → Abaza: мальаикь (malᶻaikʲ)
    - → Abkhaz: амаалықь (amaaləkʲ)
    - → Adyghe: мэлэӏич (mɛlɛʼič)
    - → Armenian: մալաք, մալախ (malakʻ, malax)
    - → Avar: малаик (malaik)
    - → Azerbaijani: mələk
    - → Chechen: малик (malik)
    - → Classical Persian: مَلَک (malak)
    - → Dargwa: малайк (malajk)
    - → Farefare: malɛka
    - → Fula: maleyka
    - → Hausa: mala'ika
    - → Ingush: малайк (malajk)
    - → Javanese: ꦩꦭꦲꦺꦏꦠ꧀ (malaékat)
    - → Kabardian: мэлэӏыч (mɛlɛʼəč)
    - → Khwarezmian: ملك (mlk)^[6]
    - → Kumyk: малайик (malayik)
    - → Northern Kurdish: melek, milyaket
    - → Lezgi: малаик (malaik)
    - → Malay: malak, malaikat
      - Indonesian: malaikat
    - → Maranao: mala'ikat
    - → Moore: malɛka
    - → Ngiti: màlàyikà
    - → Ottoman Turkish: ملك (melek)
      - Turkish: melek
      - → Albanian: meleq
      - → Romanian: melec
      - → Serbo-Croatian: mèlek / мѐлек
    - → Swahili: malaika
      - Tooro: malaika
    - → Tabasaran: малайик (malajik)
    - → Tat: малах
    - → Tausug: malāikat
    - → Turkmen: melek
    - → Yoruba: màlékà
- Tigrinya: መልኣኽ (mälʾax)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Pardee, Dennis (2011) “Ugaritic”, in Weninger, Stefan, editor, The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook (Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft – Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science; 36), Berlin: De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 464: “maLʾaK-”
^ Leslau, Wolf (1991) “303”, in Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN
^ Streck, Michael P. (2000) Das amurritische Onomastikon der altbabylonischen Zeit (Alter Orient und Altes Testament; 271) (in German), volume 1: Die Amurritcr. Die onanistische Forschung. Orthographic und Phonologic. Nominal Morphology, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, →ISBN, page 104
^ Arbach, Mounir, Maraqten, Mohammed (2018) “Notes on the root LʾK “to send” and the term mlʾk “messenger” in the ancient South Arabian inscriptions”, in Semitica Et Classica: International Journal of Oriental and Mediterranean‎^[1], volume IX
^ Klein, Ernest (1987) “מַלְאָךְ”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[2], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 348
^ Benzing, Johannes (1983) “mlk”, in Chwaresmischer Wortindex, Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz, page 410

[Weninger-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Pardee, Dennis (2011) “Ugaritic”, in Weninger, Stefan, editor, The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook (Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft – Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science; 36), Berlin: De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 464: “maLʾaK-”

[2] Leslau, Wolf (1991) “303”, in Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN

[3] Streck, Michael P. (2000) Das amurritische Onomastikon der altbabylonischen Zeit (Alter Orient und Altes Testament; 271) (in German), volume 1: Die Amurritcr. Die onanistische Forschung. Orthographic und Phonologic. Nominal Morphology, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, →ISBN, page 104

[Arbach-4] Arbach, Mounir, Maraqten, Mohammed (2018) “Notes on the root LʾK “to send” and the term mlʾk “messenger” in the ancient South Arabian inscriptions”, in Semitica Et Classica: International Journal of Oriental and Mediterranean‎^[1], volume IX

[5] Klein, Ernest (1987) “מַלְאָךְ”, in A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[2], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 348

[6] Benzing, Johannes (1983) “mlk”, in Chwaresmischer Wortindex, Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz, page 410

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