Talk:כרפס

Etymology

@Wikitiki89: Thanks for creating this entry. Is this edit correct? — I.S.M.E.T.A. 00:39, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

@I'm so meta even this acronym: Unless you have a source that says the Greek word was borrowed from Hebrew, I think it's more likely that they simply share the same origin. --WikiTiki89 00:49, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

@Wikitiki89: I'm going on the content of the discussion at WT:RFV#carpasinus. — I.S.M.E.T.A. 00:59, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

Thanks, I didn't see that discussion. @Chuck Entz: Are we sure the Greek word was borrowed from Hebrew and did not exist before the Greek translation of Esther? --WikiTiki89 13:23, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

No, I'm not. I shouldn't have relied on memory of books I read decades ago- sorry for leading everyone astray. It turns out that κάρπασος, with the meaning of flax or fine linen goes back much further in Greek. כרפס is a hapax legomenon in the Hebrew, and καρπάσινος only occurs in the Septuagint in that one passage. The Hebrew does look like it may be a Persian loanword that apparently goes back to Sanskrit. In Latin, the corresponding word is carbasus, so it looks like the Latin spelling with the "p" is from the Septuagint. I' don't have time to search further this morning, but the common origin idea looks likely. Chuck Entz (talk) 15:02, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

@Chuck Entz: Have you been able to uncover any more about these words? — I.S.M.E.T.A. 12:00, 23 November 2016 (UTC)