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From: "Cohen, Izzy" <>
Subject: mamzer, bitch
Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 00:26:19 -0600


> Bill [Rintala] (I apologise if this offends anyone)

Random House online contains:
mamzer (mom'zuhr) n. Slang
1. a bastard.
2. a rascal or rogue.
[1555-65; < LL mamzer < Heb; in recent
American E < Yiddish < Heb]

In Yiddish, mamzer is also used affectionately to refer
to a mischievous child. I was often called a "mamzer",
but not by my parents.

The Hebrew/Yiddish equivalent, MaMZeR, does *not* refer
to the child of an unwed mother. It is the child of
parents who, based on Jewish law, are not allowed to
become married.

Here is a (longish) definition from the Jewish Encyclopedia:
http://jewishencyclopedia.com

In the English use of the word, a child neither born nor begotten in lawful
wedlock; an illegitimate child. There is no Hebrew word of like meaning. The
mamzer, rendered "bastard" in the A. V., is something worse than an
illegitimate child. He is the offspring of a father and mother between whom
there could be in law no binding betrothal: issuing either from adultery
between a married woman and a man other than her husband, or from incest
within the forbidden degrees of kinship or affinity defined in Lev. xviii.
and xx. The child of a marriage simply forbidden, as that between a cohen
and a divorced woman, is legitimate but "profane"; that is, a son can not
officiate as a priest, a daughter is not eligible to marry a priest. But a
mamzer, according to Deut. xxiii. 3, must not "enter the congregation of the
Lord," that is, marry an Israelite woman, "nor shall his tenth generation
enter," etc., which includes also the female mamzer (?id. iii. 12; Mak. iii.
1). The older Halakah, however, was more rigorous, Akiba declaring any child
of a forbidden connection a mamzer (Yeb. iv. 12, 13; Yer. ib. 6b; Bab. ib.
44a, 49a).

Whether the child of a daughter of Israel and of a Gentile or bondman is a
mamzer or not, was hotly disputed both among the early sages, down to Rabbi
Judah the Patriarch, and among the later teachers in Palestine and in
Babylonia (Yeb. 23a, 45a). But the rule finally adopted is that such a child
is not a mamzer, even when the mother is a married woman. This is the
decision in the modern code (Shul?an 'Aruk, Eben ha-'Ezer, 4. 19), though it
is admitted that the child is unfit for the priesthood. Maimonides decides
to the same effect (Issure Biah, xv. 3). The law laid down in Deuteronomy
against the mamzer and against his distant offspring seemed so harsh that
every opportunity was taken to confine it to the narrowest limits.

Where incest or adultery takes place among Gentiles, and the offspring
embraces Judaism, the flaw in his descent is ignored. He is not deemed a
mamzer (Shul?an 'Aruk, Eben ha-'Ezer, 4, 21). The child of an Israelite by
an unconverted Gentile mother is a Gentile, and when converted becomes an
Israelite to all purposes, without regard to his father.

<snip>

On the general principle that a person's confession of his or her own
turpitude is not admissible as legal testimony, the wife and mother can not,
by her assertion, stamp her offspring as an adulterine Bastard. For the
rules of presumption and evidence in cases of doubt, see ShulXan 3aruk, Eben
ha-'Ezer, 4, 14-16.

============================================================================
===============================================
Why a female dog is called a bitch
----------------------------------

The derivation of "bitch" in Random House Online is related to
the meaning 'complaint', which is probably related to Hebrew
mem-het-lamed-heh makhalah = complaint; disease, illness
and mem-het-lamed-oh-kuf-saf makhalokes = disagreement, dispute.
Both of these constitute mem>B and het+schwa > ch conversions.

bitch (bich) <bitched, bitch-ing.>
n.
1. a female dog.
2. a female of canines generally.
3. Slang. a. a malicious, unpleasant, selfish woman.
b. a lewd woman.
4. Slang. a. a complaint.;
b. anything difficult or unpleasant.
v.i.
5. Slang. to complain; gripe.
6. Slang. to spoil; bungle (sometimes fol. by up).
[bef. 1000; ME bicche, OE bicce; c. ON bikkja]

If the het+schwa is dropped, notice the similarity between
Hebrew makhalokes = disagreement, dispute and
Latin malice/malicious.

The term "bitch up" = spoil, bungle may be related to
mem-het-bet-lamed m'khabayl = sabotage; i.e.,
mkhb --> bchp, again a mem>B conversion.

[Using 3 for aiyin with a velar G sound, as in 3aZa = Gaza.)
So, where's the dog? The dog was represented in ancient
Hebrew as taf-aiyin or Ta3. (See DOG WORDS below.)

The female may have been bas-ta3ah on the model of
ya'ain = ostrich and bas-ya'anah = female ostrich.

So, bet-saf taf-aiyin-heh --> btt3h.
In some German dialects, final G is
pronounced CH, hence, btch in English.


DOG WORDS

The dog's "bark" and Hebrew KeLeV = dog may be reversals:
vlk-->brk

Cerberus (sûr'buhr uhs) = 3-headed dog of Greek myth
guarding the entrance to the underworld
< kaf-lamed-vet kelev = dog
~ kuf-vet-resh kever = grave kvr--> grv
~ het-feh-resh khafar = burrow, dig kh-f-r--> g-r-v

dachshund < Germ Dachs = badger + Hund = dog
< taf-het-shin takhash = badger

dingo = Australian wild dog < Dharuk din-gu = tame dingo
~ taf-nun tan = jackel; taf-nun --> shin-nun shen = tooth

dog < ME dogge < OE docga ~ taf-aiyin-lamed ta3al
= to canalize, dig, ta3ala = trench, canal ~ L canine

dog, put on the = assume an attitude of wealth or importance
< nun-taf-aiyin-heh nit3ah = to cause to err, mislead, deceive
< taf-aiyin-heh ta3ah = go astray, lose one's way, wander

in the doghouse = in disfavor or disgrace (1605)
< TH taf-aiyin-oo-vet ti3ov = abomination, nit'av
= to be abhorred, be abominable
< taf-vav-aiyin-vet to3av = be abominable,
to3avah = abomination, interpreted as taf-aiyin = dog
+ Aram bet-yod bay = the house of, the home of

double dog dare ya < partial translation of
taf-aiyin-taf-aiyin ti3tay3a = to mock, to deceive
+ taf-aiyin-oo-zaiyin-heh t'3oozah = daring, mocking deception
The "taf-aiyin-taf-aiyin" is the dog-dog or "double dog".

doggone it = a phrase of (self-)blame. One says "doggone it" when
he makes a mistake; that is, he is led (or leads himself) astray.
< taf-aiyin-nun-yod-taf ta3anit = self-affliction, fasting;
Ta3anith is the name of a tractate of the Talmud dealing with
fasting and penitence
~ taf-aiyin-heh ta3ah = to stray, wander

periwinkle = dogbane, a plant with acrid juice and a bitter root
<OE perwince < L vincapervinca > vav-yod-nun-kuf-heh vinkah
< peh-resh-het het-nun-kuf pera(w) (w)anak = choking flower

shaggy-dog (story) ~ shin-gimel-gimel shegeg = error, mistake
+ taf-aiyin-heh ta3ah = to stray, wander, be led astray

Sirius = brightest star in sky < L = Dog star < Gk Seírios
~ ayelet haSHakhaR = morning star < shakhar = dawn
Other names: Canicula; Dog Star; Aschere. Alpha Canis Majoris
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Canis_Major.h
tml

cynosure (sie'nuh shoor , sin'uh-) n.
1. someone or something that strongly attracts attention,
interest, or admiration: the cynosure of all eyes.
2. something serving for guidance or direction.
[1590-1600; < L Cynosura < Gk Kynósoura = the constellation
Ursa Minor < kynós = dog's (gen. of kyon) + ourá = tail]

skulduggery or skullduggery = dishonesty or trickery
1865, Amer.; alter. of Scots sculduddery = fornication, obscenity
< shin-gimel-lamed shagal = have sexual intercourse with a woman
+ taf-aiyin-taf-oo-aiyin ta3too3a = deceit, deception

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