Etymology of the Korean word "mul"
koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)
Sangju Campus
13 April 2010
South Koreans and North Koreans are using the word mul for water. It is not clear what the origin of the word is. It is not from
Whether the "silkroad" connections with the Han-peoples in Mongolia up to Mesopotamia was the origin of a loanword in Korean that is very close to all these ancient languages, is not for this researchers to decide, but the similarity is remarkable.
One should not imagine that the Koreans were poor in creativity of a word for water in ancient times and were but too happy to find a loanword MOOY for them to modify as mul. This is too simplistic a reason, but the early links of Buddhism to
The ceramic connections of Pottery at Ansan in
I. Aqua group of languages
Latin (60 BCE - present)
aqua "water"
All Latin related languages may have the same form: Spanish, French, Portuguese.
II. Hudoor group of languages
Greek (800 BCE - present)
hudoor "water"
Sanskrit (many words for water) (200 CE)
hudaka "water"
III. Water group of languages
English
water
Old English
waeter
Dutch
water "water"
German
wasser "water"
Old High German
wazzar
Russian
voda
Gothic
wato
Hittite (1650 BCE -1180 BCE)
watar "water"
IV. MU group of languages
Korean
mul "water"
Coptic is a language that is Egyptian in essence but using Greek orthography and loanwords. It was centered mostly in North Africa.
Coptic (250-present)
MOOY "water"
Semitic Languages (Hebrew, Syriac, Armenian, Arabic)
mayim "water"
ma' "water" (Arabic) or miyah
Late Egyptian (flee) 1340-1150 BCE
mw "water"
Middle Egyptian (heaven) 1600-1340 BCE
mw "water"
Akkadian (Old Assyrian, Middle Assyrian, Neo-Assyrian, Old Babylonian, Middle Babylonian, Neo-Babylonian, Ugaritic, Amarna)
mu "water"
Sumerian 2521 BCE - 300 BCE)
mu "water"