Chris Croughton wrote:
> I can't find any references which relate 'bean' to [Hebrew] 'BiNaH', what is your reference?
No references, except some of my own musings previously published on
the web.
http://www.vocaboly.com/forums/ftopic9134.html
http://hci.ucsd.edu/cogling/2709.html
> Does it tie into the UK term "old bean", meaning an aquaintance?
Maybe, in the sense of someone you previously/already "knew".
> Or "full of beans" meaning having much energy (and for children often referring to them being unable to sit still)?
No. But compare Hebrew MeReTZ = energy, vim, vigor, ginger, liveliness,
pep, spiritedness, etc. Here mem => B, resh => N, tsadi => S. Perhaps
borrowed into Hebrew because the same spelling is a homonym that means
the month of March, the planet/god of war Mars. Hebrew evidences some
antipathy towards using the names of other gods, so the Babylonian
month Marchesvan became the Hebrew month of Kheshvan het-shin-vav-nun.
ciao,
Israel "izzy" Cohen
|
|