fɔḳḥ - half (JL 56)

Leslau connects Proto-MSA *paḳḥ- ‘half’ with the verbal root *pḳḥ, but one has to admit that the meaning “to cut,” “to split” from which “half” could plausibly be derived (Bittner 1913a:97‒98) is hardly ever directly attested for the reflexes of this root, cf. only Hbr. pḳḥ ‘to open the eyes’ (HALOT 959), Syr. pḳḥ ‘floruit’ (LSyr. 589), Arb. fḳḥ ‘to open the eyes; to blossom,’ perhaps also faḳḥat- ‘anus’ (Lane 2424). Mhr. fōḳəḥ and Jib. féḳəḥ ‘to cut in half’ (ML 91, JL 56) can hardly be considered the source of *paḳḥ- ‘half,’ being rather secondarily derived from it. The presence of fḳḥ ‘half’ also in Sabaic (SD 45, Stein 2003:123‒124) can hardly be accidental and should probably be explained as a contact phenomenon (a substratum/adstratum MSA influence on Sabaic or instead a cultural borrowing from Sabaic into early MSA?). One wonders, finally, whether Tgr. fäḳḥa ‘to lease, to practice usury’ (WTS 663) could be related to the meaning “half” with a somewhat peculiar semantic development. (Kogan 2015:566-567)