Many of you are just getting your feet wet in the sea of Hebrew. But dare to wade into the breakers.
The bilabial-liquid-guttural “BREAKERS family” :
1) ברג BeReG. Preserved in Arabic, this cognate of BRACE and BRACKET now infers screw and bolt in Modern Hebrew. The corkscrew metal BREAKS through wood,
2) ברק BaRaQ. This is a bolt, FLICKER or broken line of lightning. Lightning is
FORKED. See things that BRANCH out (a nasalized, extra N, form of BRK.
See “FORK.”
3) ברח BeRaK[H] is to break and run, to flee (Exodus 36:33). The same knee bent in rest, putting on the BRAKES below, is here pumping high as a person takes FLIGHT.
4) ברך BeReKH is the knee, which BREAKS the length of the leg. To KNEEL is in Genesis 24:11, the way to put on the BRAKES and PARK your kneeling camels. BRACHY- words are from Greek brachys (short), while the arm's BRACHIUM is the Latin source of may arm-like words. These include BRACE, BRACELET, BRACHIO- (prefix for arm words), BRACKET, BRANCH and BREECHES. See below: פרק PeReQ is a joint or cross-section.
5) ברקן BaRQahN are briers, which also slow us up (Judges 8:7). This is BRAKE5, like
BRACKEN, botanical undergrowth, from an Indo-European “root” bhreg (to break).
6) ברקת BaReKeT is an emerald (Exodus 20:17) which sparkles and flickers with
broken light -- if not as bright as the lightening above.
7) פלג PeLeG. The FLOCK of words here includes BLOCK, BREAK, BRIGADE (see “BRIGADE”), FLAKE, FLUKE, FRACAS and PLUG. Consider that Genesis 10:25 may refer to the break up of earth's single land mass into continents; otherwise Peleg was named for the tribal BLOCKS that took shape and migrated apart in his era. The same Hebrew term is the "divide" of "divide their tongue" in Psalms 55:10. פלגהP’LooGaH is a division (II Chronicles 35:5). Noah’s great-grandson is named “פלג / PeLeG, for in his days was the Earth divided.” Before the Deluge-initiated Continental Drift, crossing what would later be named The Bering Strait was a walk in the park. The BREAKUP of a stream into rivulets is at the “ARCHIPELAGO” entry.
8) פלח FeLaK[H], piece, slice (I Samuel 30:12) is another FLAKE (see “FLAKE”), FRACTION or FRAGMENT word. It is behind words like PLA NK (see "PLANK") , attributed to Indo-European (IE) "root" plak (to be flat). Another entry to see this Edenic "piece" is "FLAGSTONE." Another relevant IE “root” is bhelg or bhelk (a plank, beam). Some of the alleged derivatives include BALCONY, BALK, FULCRUM and PHALANX (see “PHALANX.”)
9) There is פלח PaLaK[H] or FaLa[K]H in Psalms 141:7. This word refers to the PLOUGHer in the neighboring farm or the FELLOW, from the Arabic fellah, the common FOLK who tills or plows. It is a cleavage or slice. As a verb it means to split or till.
10) פלח PeLeK[H] (Nehemiah 3:9). This spatial break-off or partition means a district or
PAROCHIAL division of land.
11) פרח PeRaK[H] or FeRa[K]H. The BREAKING out here is the kind FRECKLES and PLAGUES might do. There's also the FLIGHT, breaking away and blossoming forth of birds, flora and FRAGRANCES. The budding sense comes from Genesis 40:10; spreading and "flourishing" is seen in Proverbs 14:11. Boils (perhaps Corona plague) "breaks forth" in Exodus 9:9. אפרח EFRoaK[H] is a baby bird or FLEDGELING who breaks out of its shell (like all of us, eventually spreading wings and flying). פרח PaRaK[H] is to blossom or flower, and PeRaK[H] is the noun flower.
12) פרכת PaRoKHeT. The curtain of Exodus 26:31, this space breaker or partition is pargodus in Latin, and is nasalized as firanka in Polish. כפרת KaPoReT (covering on the holy ark—Exodus 25:17) is a synonym by M231 metathesis in פרכת PaRoKHeT (the curtain before the holy of holies – Exodus 26:33). The Finnish curtain, verho, curtain echos פרכת PaRoaKHeT. The similar כפרת KaPoReT means curtain as a covering (see “COVER”), not to be confused with the related curtain as space BREAKER… such as Old Norse balkr (partition).
13) פרך PaRahKH. Appearing in Exodus 1:13, but more evident as a splitting word in Aramaic, it breaks up into English words like FLAKE, FLUKE, FREAK and PORRIDGE (see “FREAK” and "FRIABLE").
14) פרעPey-Resh-Ayin, that’s 1) F or P, 2) R, and 3) vowel or GH guttural, means FREAKED OUT or unordered division, even in hair (Numbers 5:18) – see entries like “FREAK,” “FUR,” “PILE,” (as in pile carpet)” and “PERIWIG.”
15) פרק PeReQ or PayRahQ (Genesis 27:40) The definitions of this word infer BREAKING OFF or PARKING in a text (a chapter) as well as removal words like FLECK (at ie “root” plek (to tear), FLEECE (at IE “root” pleus , to pluck, fleece), FLICK (see “FLICK”) and PLUCK. Via IE “root” plek one might also add FLAY, FLESH (see “BURSAR,” “BUTCHER” and “SARCASTIC”), and FLETCH. Also see “BARK,” “BREECH,” “FRACTION” and “PLUCK.”
פרק PeReQ is also a joint or crossroads. In living things this etymon (source word) is often nasalized (with an extra N or M) for various kinds of BRANCHES, like the BRONCHI leading to the right and left lung. More BRACES at entries like “BREECHES” and “BRONCHITIS.”
Theפ-ר Pey-Resh or P-R “crumbling” family seen at the “FRIABLE” entry is here given a guttural as third consonent.
Even a small FRACTION of the non-borrowed foreign words from this “breakers” family would require several pages. With enough help from readers, this post, an excerpt from our "BREAK" entry, could fill a book.
Surfs up. Enjoy riding the breakers or waves of Hebrew's designed language families.