LICK LaK[H]aKH Lamed-Het-Khaf
LAH-UCK_ ______לחך________[LHK]
ROOTS: LICK is said to be from Greek leikhein and the Indo-European (IE) 'root' leigh (to lick).
A better reason for the double guttural (C and K) of LICK is found in לחך LAK[H]aKH (to lick -
Numbers 22:4). The Edenic liquid-guttural-guttural compound may be seen as a combining of two shorter elements or sub-roots: לח LahK[H] means moisture (Numbers 6:3 --- see
LIQUID), and חך K[H]aiKH means 'palate' (Songs 7:10).
לקק LaQaQ is to lick (I Kings 21:19), and עלע [E]eLaGH is to lap or swallow.
Ugaritic lhk is to lick. The Arabic tongue is lougha, the same word, naturally, for language.
BRANCHES: החליקHe[K]He
LeeYQ is to make smooth (Isaiah 41:7); Ma[K]Ha
LeeYQ LaSHOAN means flattering with the tongue (see לשון LaSHOAN at
SLANG). Whether by a mother cat or by a smooth sycophant, Het-
Lamed-Koof is slick with LK licking.
Cognates of LICK include ELECTUARY, and LECHER. Although Latin lingere ('to lick') is mentioned here, Latin's lingua (tongue) words such as LANGUAGE, LINGUIST, etc. are listed instead at the tongue-twisted IE 'root' dnghu. These are nasalized (added N) L-K tongue words.
The American Heritage Dictionary has a racist agenda that confounds logic, otherwise why try to make LK language words like LOCUTION come from the made-up root
tolkw (to speak). Edenic has the LK etymon above, as well as a reverse of Koof-Lamed, קול QOAL (voice – see
CALL.)
These proposed IE 'root' dngu may link up with טעם DTaGHaM (to taste).
Tongue and LANGUAGE are synonyms. To lick is 'to tongue', as many nouns are tied to verbs, and sophisticated nouns (as easily seen in Semitic) are derived from parts of the body. LINGUAL words are clearly a nasalized (extra N) form of the Semitic liquid-guttural terms above.
Terms for 'language' like Swahili lugha and Finnish kieli are Lamed-Koof words with 1) a guttural shift KàG, and 2) a reversal LKàKL. It is then more obvious that 'language' words like French langue, Italian lingua and Spanish lengua are nasalizations.
The slick licking of animal glosses or tongues grooming a glossy coat should evoke a link between LACQUER and LICK.
Webster's presumes that LACQUER, a resinous varnish or shellac, is from a Persian word for gum:
lac. The Finnish lacquer,
lakka, favors לקקLaQaQ. Neither LACQUER nor SHEL
LAC have IE 'roots.' Also, '
SHE
LLA
C' with a guttural and fricative shift, resembles a reversal of GLOSS (see
GLISSADE.)
Greek glossa, tongue, is relevant in an entry about LICKING.
See
CALL, LIQUID and
SLANG (where Hebrew, too, has the same word for tongue and language).
Global lickers include French lecher, German lecken, Latin lingent, Rumanian linge, Maltesian lagħaq and Italian leccare. [RW]
The Finnish tongue has reversed to kieli; kielikurssi is a language course. [MN]
