Dave: Wondering if there are any connections, if any, between daf and dafter and 'yotze dofan' meaning: 'through unnatural conditions' e.g. caesarean birth?
Bartalmei Limetree | Homepage | 02.07.08 - 4:57 pm | #

Well, dofen is related to daf as I wrote here:

http://www.balashon.com/2008/02/...-and- divan.html

and I wrote about yotzei dofen here:

http://www.balashon.com/2006/02/...d- rachamim.html
Dave (Balashon) | Homepage | 02.07.08 - 5:25 pm | #

After looking what you wrote: Could there be a connection between the leathern daf=side/dofan (seite=page in German) and the tzayid=hunter and tzad=side? Perhaps, giving the one the sense that the side is the leather acquired by the hunter.

In another vein of thought—that of the elementary—from the Latin word elementum—relating the idea of: “a letter of the alphabet”. This brings to mind also the word ‘gram’ as used in English parlance for one of the smallest elementary units for measuring weight, which has its roots in the Greek word ‘gramma’—having a literal meaning also of “letter of the alpha-beta” (another branch is graphein/graphos meaning to: ‘write’). The Hebrew equivalent of this idea can be either ‘diq’duq’ or ‘ot’. The former meaning to ‘break to elementary pieces’ and the latter, meaning ‘letter’. In this way the ideas of daf=page/leather-side and ‘dafter’ are part and parcel of a leathern megillah which is also a sepher: From where we get account=Mispar, scribe=sopher, and pen=suf.
Bartalmei Limetree | Homepage | 02.07.08 - 7:06 pm | #

Dave-

Noticed that you have already explored the connection between daf and daven.
http://www.balashon.com/search?q=DAVEN

An insight that one could offer here is that 'daven' is derived from a term in Parsha Terumah: "y'divenu" from 'nadav'-meaning:free-will offering--which is: "prayer-the service of the heart." Remember that the letter nun has the tendency to snake in and out of words. Moreover DaVeN is NaDaV rearranged.

Also: as an addendum to my note above: a sepher can also be interpreted as "letter."
Bartalmei Limetree | Homepage | 02.07.08 - 10:55 pm | #

It might interest you to know that the word 'daftar' is used as notebook in Persian as well, but it is also used for "office". Could this corroborate your last point and relate this to divan?
B. | Homepage | 02.20.08 - 4:55 pm | #

Here is seem to be. While in Modern Hebrew daftar (or diftar) means notebook, this is a borrowing from Universal language,that the Albanian language has the codecs.
1.di=know
2.f=start to
3.t=in,to,on
3.a=speak
4.r=writing
"know start to speak to writing"
Orakulli i dodones | 08.21.08 - 5:21 pm | #