Ishinan wrote:
ETYMOLOGY:
Herg, hearg: A grove, a heathen place of worship.
Icel. hörgr, OHG. harug, haruc, haruch.
COMPARE WITH
Classical Arabic Hrg (Ha' + ra' +djym): a wood or
collection of trees so called because of their closeness, or dense tangled trees
which the pasturing animals cannot reach. From a trilateral root "Hrg" with a
base meaning: became collected together, became close, strait or narrow.
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Richard McCallister commented:
Talk to Theo Venemann, he might see it as a loan from his
Atlantic/Semitidic AA. True, but I think it's more likely related to the root of
Latin carcer which comes from a word meaning lattice, enclosure, etc.
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Ishinan's response:
I am taking the liberty of posting the definition of the Latin term
"carcer" which you offered as a cognate for the OE. Herg/hearg meaning a grove,
a place of worshipping:
To view the Latin definition of "carcer" click below:
carcer: 1 jail, prison, b (menton) the occupants of the prison; (in
voc.) jail bird.
2 (transf.):a. The cave or dungeon in which Aelus kept the winds. b. The
underworld (esp. as a place of punishment c. a cage for birds or beasts; a trap
for catching them. d. the body regarded as imprisoning the spirit (of var. other
things regarded as having the characteristics of a prison).
3 (usu. pl. or port . sg.) the barriers at the beginning of a race-course,
the starting point of the course, 'traps' b (in var. fig. phr.)
carcerarius ~ a ~ um, a [prec.+arius] of or connected with a prison.
Conclusion: Where do you see the sense of a "grove" in the above Latin
definition of "carcer" which refers to a prison?
Ishinan