THE ROOT OF THE WORD - "YEAR" (SHANA)
The word "shana" comes from the root "ש-נ-י/ה".
The root appears in the bible and means "to repeat something a second time":
וַיֹּאמֶר מִלְאוּ אַרְבָּעָה כַדִּים מַיִם וְיִצְקוּ עַל-הָעֹלָה וְעַל-הָעֵצִים. וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁנוּ, וַיִּשְׁנוּ וַיֹּאמֶר שַׁלֵּשׁוּ, וַיְשַׁלֵּשׁו - מלכים א׳ י״ח – פסוק ל״ד
The verb also appears with the meaning "to do again", to repeat something once more:
כְּכֶלֶב שָׁב עַל קֵאוֹ כְּסִיל שׁוֹנֶה בְאִוַּלְתּוֹ - משלי כ״ו – פסוק י״א
It is therefore believed that the word "shana" comes from the word that means "to repeat", because the year repeats itself.
MODERN LINGUISTICS' TAKE ON THE WORD
In modern linguistics, the above explanation is not accepted. The word "year" in French, "année", has similar origins to other related words in English: annual, anniversary, and more, all originating from the Latin word "annus", which means "year". There are those who also see a connection between this Latin word and the Sanskrit word "atati", which means "to go" because time is seen as something that passes by, or goes.
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Jonathan Lipnick is an educator and tour guide based in Jerusalem, Israel. Originally from the United States, he holds a B.A. in religious studies from Indiana University and M.A.s from Hebrew University and Harvard University. He is currently completing his Ph.D at Harvard in religious studies.
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