Abstract:
During the study of plant names in the Georgian Gospel I tried to
answer a few basic questions: how are the plant names transferred
in the Georgian Gospel texts – by the way of borrowing, translation,
or replacing with the equivalents of the similar semantics? Are there
any Proto-Kartvelian roots among the plant names testified in the
Gospels? Are there any examples when with the borrowed vocabulary
we also come across with the Georgian (Kartvelian) synonym
forms? Did the borrowed material appear in the Georgian language
system by the way of the Gospel texts translation, or did it exist
before? Which cultural, religious motives are related to each plant
name in the given context? How are the Kartvelian and borrowed
roots distributed (for example, depending on the fact whether the
plant is endemic, grows in Georgia or not)? How adequate are the
lexical equivalents and how are the errors explained? etc.; This time the article deals with the Semitic borrowing, in particular,
zetis xili (olive).
zetis xil- is observed in the Georgian Gospel in the following
places: L. 19, 29; L. 21, 37; M. 21, 1; 26, 30; M 24, 3; Mr. 11, 1; Mr. 13, 3; Mr.
14, 26; L. 22, 39; L. 19, 37.
Georgian zet- stem comes from Arabic zajt. The multiple illustrative
materials of the mentioned name (zeti, zetis xe, zetis xeoani,
zetis-xili, zetis-xilovani) in old Georgian texts shows that this stem
has been well established in Georgian vocabulary.
Determining the exact borrowing path (Aramaic, Syriac or Arabic)
of stem zet- in Georgian is difficult only on the basis of phonetics,
although the Semitic origin of this stem is not in doubt.
zetis xil-: Olea europaea L. (the root borrowed from Syriac to
Arabic): Geo. ზეთის ხილი [zetis xili]; Grk. ἑλαια ἠ [elaja]; Lat. oliva
(f.); Hebr. תּיז [zayiä]; Arm. ձեթենի [jet’eni]; Arab. نوتیز [zajtūn]; Pers.
(Arab.) نوتیز [zeˆyt, zeˆytūn]; Turk. zeytin; Eng. Olive; Germ. Őlbaum
(m.); Fran. olivier (m.); Rus. оливковое дерево, маслина.
