# To hug



## ThomasK

'Free hugs' has been dealt with elsewhere, but I'd like to focus on the word *'hug', 'embrasser',* itself, ask for the precise meaning and a reference to the origin, for example a part of the body or ... 

Dutch: *omhelzing *(round-the-neck-ings, lit., referring to *hals*, the frontside of the neck). 
French:: *embrasser *(< _bras_, arm) 
Other Romanic languages: *abra*-... 
Swedish: _*klemmer *_(which reminds me of Dutch _klemmen_, to clench, to clamp, which is not very pleasant in Dutch ;-))

I see lots of other translations at the 'free hugs' thread, but I don't even know which word is a translation of 'hugs' and which of 'free'...


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## DearPrudence

Ha ha. Actually, it is pretty complicated in French 

Nowadays *French*:
*"to hug : serrer quelqu'un dans ses bras *_(literally: to hold in your arms)_*, étreindre *(quite literary & not used as commonly as "hug"), (*embrasser *(literary, old usage))
*"embrasser : to kiss"*

So, basically,
"*embrasser *(= hug) → *embrasser *(= to kiss)

(we're always a bit stuck when we have to translate things like "to give someone a hug" because it's not something that we do much in France. We rather kiss friends on the cheeks to say hello or goodbye. Fortunately we don't hug them in general  (I don't like hugs!!)


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## ThomasK

That is quite interesting a note: words don't always mean the same, indeed. I wonder if there is another word in English, to indeed exclude the difference between kiss on the cheek and hugging. 

I'd like to focus on the hugging strictly speaking. The kissing aspect might be a topic for further exploration later on. ;-)

_Etreindre_: what is the basis of that word ?


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## DearPrudence

ThomasK said:


> I'd like to focus on the hugging strictly speaking. The kissing aspect might be a topic for further exploration later on. ;-)


Please note I am answering your question.
_You _said it was "embrasser" in French and I wanted to put that right.
In a way, "embrasser" is vaguely possible in literary and old texts so it needs to be included, but noting all the connotations it has so that people don't use it wrong 

As for "étreindre" (which sounds as if the person is holding you far tighter than with a nice hug), does the CNRTL help? 


> *Étymol. et Hist. 1. a) *_Ca1135 estreindre « ligoter quelqu'un » (Couronnement de Louis, 1277 ds T.-L.) [...]_


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## ThomasK

Don't misunderstand, Ms DP: I am just trying to delimit the topic, not correcting you or blaming you for anything. I suopose we'll have that problem of delimitation (?) kissing/hugging more often in what follows, I suppose. 

And thanks !


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## apmoy70

In Greek:

*Hug (noun)*: «Αγκάλη» /aŋ'gali/ (feminine noun) and colloquially «αγκαλιά» /aŋga'ʎa/ (feminine noun). PIE base *ang-/*ank-, _to bend_.
*To hug*: «Αγκαλιάζω» /aŋga'ʎazo/ (active voice, _to hug, embrace_), «αγκαλιάζομαι» /aŋga'ʎazome/ (mediopassive voice, _to be hugged, embraced_). In the ancient language the verb was «ἐναγκαλίζομαι» (ĕnăŋgă'līzŏmæ; middle voice--> _to take in my arms_, passive voice--> _to be taken in the arms_)


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## ThomasK

So the Greek word suggests bending down to someone, I guess. 'Taking in one's arms' seems to suggest that one person is more active than the other, but that is not necessarily the case, I guess...


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## AutumnOwl

ThomasK said:


> Swedish: _*klemmer *_(which reminds me of Dutch _klemmen_, to clench, to clamp, which is not very pleasant in Dutch ;-))


I don't know from where you have got that _klemmer_ is Swedish for hug, as the word _klämma_ means to squeeze, nip, wring (although a squeeze can be a kind of hug). There is a word _klem(m)a_ meaning something like to pet, to fondle, to cuddle usually used when speaking about childen (_klema bort ett barn_ - to spoil or pamper a child).

*Att kramas* is to hug in Swedish, _*att ge en kram*_ is to give a hug.

*Att omfamna någon* - to take someone (to your bosom or) in your arms; to hug (not in a romantic way, but as a greeting or to comfort somebody)


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## ThomasK

I am sorry, I thought I had read that in the other thread, but it was Norsk, please forgive me : 



> Norwegian (bokmål): Gratis *klemmer *
> Norwegian (nynorsk): Gratis *klemmar *



The _kl... _word elicits similar feelings as our _klemmen_. I was simply mistaken. But does *att kramas *has another meaning as well ? 

Omfamna reminds me of German umfangen, we have _omvang _(extension, compass perhaps), but no verb. I also recognize the _um-/om_-. Thanks. 

In the meantime I have come across these translations of free hugs, but I am not sure about the hug word in Estonian: 



> *(Estonian)* tasuta* kallistused
> *(Finnish) ilmaisia *halauksia */ ilmaisia *haleja*


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## AutumnOwl

_Krama_ also means squeeze or wring, for example a wet towel or wet clothes, or kramsnö - moist snow that you easily can sqeeze into a snowball.


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## kloie

in Estonian kaisutama,kallistama,ligi hoidma


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## ThomasK

Could you comment on the root of the word, Kloie? Does the word refer to holding, or to arms, or to anything else? And: what is the difference between the three ? Thanks !


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## kloie

I really do not know I am just a beginner in estonian but i can say that hoidma=to hold but I will ask someone and come back.


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## Tamar

In Hebrew "to hug" is לחבק [le-khabek]
The root is kh-b-k. and it means just that - to hug, putting your arms around something/someone. 
(There's also, for example: חבק בן (hu) khavak ben - he had a son, but not so commonly used).


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## Fericire

In Portuguese: «abraçar».
It comes from «a braço» (lit. by arms; «abraço» means hug).

... actually, I may be mistaken. If so, please correct me. There is a long time I read about it.


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## ThomasK

Thanks, both, but one question, Tamar: is there a link between hugging and having a son ??? ;-)_ (I am sorry !)_


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## ancalimon

Turkish "Hug":

sarıl  (sar: to wrap.   ol: to become.   sarıl: to become wrapped up)

To hug more intimately or very friendly or childly: kucakla.  (kucak is also the part of the body between legs and shoulders. So we can also say "gel kucağıma otur : come sit on my lap" to someone as well.


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## mataripis

In Tagalog: 1.) Yapos  2.) Yakap


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## ThomasK

Fine, but what is the difference? And: are those words based on _arm_, or _neck, _or ... ?

As for Turkish: 


> So we can also say _"gel kucağıma otur", come sit on my lap, _to someone as well.



One question: is the same _kucak _root being used here? Isn't that strange when referring to the lap? But maybe we are referring to the same kind of intimacy...


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## djara

In Arabic عانق  'aanaqa, refers to the word for neck عنق 'onoq


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## ancalimon

ThomasK said:


> As for Turkish:
> 
> 
> One question: is the same _kucak _root being used here? Isn't that strange when referring to the lap? But maybe we are referring to the same kind of intimacy...



Actually kucak is more like "bosom" when it's to hug someone. But when there is intimacy involved, it's the lap.

Bana kucak dolusu çicek yolladı: He sent me an armload of flowers.
Gel kucağıma otur: Come sit to my lap
Çok içten kucaklaştılar. They hugged sincerely


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## VinnyK

I believe Klemmer is a German name meaning clamp or grip the Norwegian meaning may be hug


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## learnerr

Russian: "_обнять_" means "to hug", "_поцеловать_" means "to kiss". It is straightforward. The first verb uses a generic root, which is found in the words "снять" ("to take off", "to take down", "to rent"), "поднять" ("to lift"), "внять" ("to agree", "to take into consideration"), "пронять" ("to fill", "to penetrate", this one is only about feelings), "перенять" ("to adopt", it's used when talking about methods and customs), "отнять" ("to bereave"), "занять" ("to occupy", also "to borrow"), "нанять" ("to hire"). The verb literally means "to place an instrument around something or someone", "to have something or someone inside", where "an instrument" is most commonly arms.


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## ThomasK

It remains funny, not to say intriguing, to see how a word or concept like 'hug' has so many aspects. It seems obvious that it is about an underlying expression of affection, but...


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## arielipi

An interesting proverb in hebrew is חיבוק דב khibuq dov - bear's hug - a crushing (though not stating positive/negative connotation) hug


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## ThomasK

Which reminds us of the thin line between enough and too much, I suppose:even good things can be per-verted... (I was told pure oxygen can simply kill...)


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## bazq

ThomasK said:


> Thanks, both, but one question, Tamar: is there a link between hugging and having a son ??? ;-)_ (I am sorry !)_



Not directly, I don't think so.
To add to what Tamar said, the root h-b-q represents the concept of "taking/bringing something close to you" sometimes as a result of a deep desire. The root implies the idea of wrapping your arms around something (or any clenching action), so you get things like: "חבק"(khavak) = wrist support, "חיבוק"(khibuk) = a hug, "חבק"(khevek) = deadlock (in computers). I think "חובק בן" means "to have a son" by metaphor, hinting at the first time you hold your son close to the chest (similar to a hug).


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## learnerr

ThomasK said:


> It remains funny, not to say intriguing, to see how a word or concept like 'hug' has so many aspects. It seems obvious that it is about an underlying expression of affection, but...


No and no for our language. Russians say about hugging indirectly, through another concept which is more basic: the concept of location, combined with the concept of having or taking. The word has nothing in itself to support the idea of affection: even unanimous objects, like robots or river branches, can hug. On the other hand, when the hugging one is a human and he or she does it with his arms, then the association comes in memory about affection and strength of hugging, even if he hugs a radio, for example.


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## ThomasK

I had not thought of that, I really thought the affectionate intention came first. But you will be right: it was descriptive first. We do not _om-armen/ om-helzen _(= em-brace,en-neck) radios though, never, never. Maybe trees, but only because we recognize human features, or have some kind of 'relationship' with them... ;-).  it does never have a mere descriptive meaning. That is the reason for my confusion, I suppose. (_Oh, and robots can hug, as long as they look/ behave/... like humans...)
_
Are you now saying that the Russian equivalent is used in all kinds of practical meanings, like taking or holding something. Could you give me some very practical, 'non-affectionate' uses of your verb of hugging?


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## arielipi

לחבוק lakh(a)vok is to hold grasp// wish/desire to hold; לחבוק עולם olam, olam = world, means to see the world, meaning traveling.


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## bibax

Czech uses the same verbal root like Russian:

jmouti or jíti < *ję- (nasal e) < *jem-

*obejmouti* (Rus. обнять) = to hug; *objetí* (Rus. объятие) = a hug;

Related verbs:
zajmouti = to capture, take sb as a prisoner, zajetí = captivity, capturing (noun);
vzíti = to take; vzetí = taking (noun);
odejmouti, odníti = to take away; odnětí ...;
vyjmouti, vyníti = to take out; vynětí ...;
etc.


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## ThomasK

I see, Bibax, but how about the use: _obejmouti _is only hugging (= affectionate), I gather... Due to the prefix? Can it be used 'non-affectively'?  

I suppose, Arielipi, that your _lakh(a)vok _is way broader than the hugging; I suppose you can _lakh(a)vok _a lot of things, not just persons. Did you mean you can_ lakh(a)vok olam_, see the world? Nice metaphor...


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## learnerr

ThomasK said:


> Are you now saying that the Russian equivalent is used in all kinds of practical meanings, like taking or holding something. Could you give me some very practical, 'non-affectionate' uses of your verb of hugging?


With the verbs "обнять" and "обнимать", which can be considered variants of the same verb, such use has metaphorical elements: "речные рукава обнимают острова" ("the branches of the river flow around the isles", literally "hug them"). Nowadays this word has really [almost completely] acquired its more special meaning, like other verbs of this family did. There is also the verb with the more "ceremonial" version of the same root, this verb is "объять" and means "to comprehend", "to include", "to envelop", that is, "to hold something abstract". It shares its root with the noun "объятие" ("hug"), which noun is, too, somewhat ceremonial.


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## arielipi

ThomasK said:


> I suppose, Arielipi, that your _lakh(a)vok _is way broader than the hugging; I suppose you can _lakh(a)vok _a lot of things, not just persons. Did you mean you can_ lakh(a)vok olam_, see the world? Nice metaphor...


It comes from the same root; you can lakh(a)vok anything you want to grasp/ get a hold on // wish to <-. Thats what I meant


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## bibax

ThomasK said:


> I see, Bibax, but how about the use: obejmouti is only hugging (= affectionate), I gather... Due to the prefix? Can it be used 'non-affectively'?


Like in Russian, nowadays the verb obejmouti (the prefix obe- = around) has only the special meaning: to hug. It can be used metaphorically, e.g. vesnice v _objetí_ hor = lit. a village in a hug of the mountains (= surrounded, encircled ...).

There are some derived nouns not connected with hugging:
objem = volume (the amount of space occupied by a three-dimensional object, expressed in cubic units);
objímka = socket (an opening or a cavity into which an inserted part is designed to fit: a light-bulb socket);


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## learnerr

ThomasK said:


> Could you give me some very practical, 'non-affectionate' uses of your verb of hugging?


There is a possibility to "обнять что-нибудь рассудком" ("to hug something with one's reason", but here it is rather "to embrace"). The meaning is "to understand". Also, in "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy you can find the word "обнимать" (a variation of the verb "обнять") in the meaning "to include", as one idea includes and embraces another idea. These meanings are not something that readily comes in mind as one thinks, but they are entirely possible.


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## ThomasK

The fact is indeed that for example the English 'embrace' can be used in quite different contexts, in a much broader meaning. We might use 'omarmen' in a slightly larger sense perhaps, but not that large, 'omhelzen' seems strictly affectionate... 

Ideas embracing one another: do you then mean like in a chain?


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## learnerr

ThomasK said:


> Ideas embracing one another: do you then mean like in a chain?


The character of Tolstoy means that the embracer implies the embraced: the embraced idea is a particular case of the embracing idea.


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## Grefsen

VinnyK said:


> I believe Klemmer is a German name meaning clamp or grip the Norwegian meaning may be hug


The Norwegian word "*klemmer" *can mean "hugs" or "clips/clamps."  Thanks to this thread I also just learned that the Norwegian compound word "*hårklemme" *means "hair clip."


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## apmoy70

apmoy70 said:


> In Greek:
> 
> *Hug (noun)*: «Αγκάλη» /aŋ'gali/ (feminine noun) and colloquially «αγκαλιά» /aŋga'ʎa/ (feminine noun). PIE base *ang-/*ank-, _to bend_.
> *To hug*: «Αγκαλιάζω» /aŋga'ʎazo/ (active voice, _to hug, embrace_), «αγκαλιάζομαι» /aŋga'ʎazome/ (mediopassive voice, _to be hugged, embraced_). In the ancient language the verb was «ἐναγκαλίζομαι» (ĕnăŋgă'līzŏmæ; middle voice--> _to take in my arms_, passive voice--> _to be taken in the arms_)


I apologize for quoting myself, but I wanted to add that in Greek besides *«αγκαλιάζω»* [aŋga'ʎazo] -->  active voice, _to hug, embrace_ & *«αγκαλιάζομαι»* [aŋga'ʎazome] --> mediopassive voice, _to be hugged, embraced_, we have:

(1) *«Ενστερνίζομαι»* [enste'rnizome] --> deponent verb, lit. _to fold the arms round another, clasp closely_, metaph. _to endorse, embrace_ < Classical v. *«ἐνστερνίζομαι» ĕnstĕrnízŏmai* --> _to fold the arms round another_ < compound, prefix, preposition, and adverb, *«ἐν» ĕn* --> _in, within_ (PIE *h₁en-/ *h₁eni-, _in_ cf Lat. in > It. in, Rom. în, Sp./Fr. en, Por. em; Proto-Germanic *in > Ger./Dt./Eng. in, Danish i) + Classical neut. noun *«στέρνον» stérnŏn* --> _breast, chest, breastbone_, med. _sternum_ (PIE *sterh₃-, _to spread out_ cf Skt. आस्तरते (astarate), _to spread_; Lat. struere, _to place, arrange_, structura > It. struttura, Fr./Eng/ structure, Ger. Struktur, Dt. structuur, Sp. estructura, Por. estrutura, Rus./Bul. структура).

(2) *«Περιπτύσσω»* [peri'ptiso] --> _to hug erotically/sexually_ < Classical Gr. v. *«περιπτύσσω» pĕrĭptússō* --> _to fold the arms round another, enshroud, embrace_ < compound, prefix, preposition, and adverb *«περὶ» pĕrì* --> _about, around_ (PIE base *per-, _through, across, beyond_) + Classical v. *«πτύσσω» ptússō* --> _to plead, fold (up)_ (with obscure etymology).

We also use the "ancient" verb *«εναγκαλίζομαι»* [enaŋga'lizome] as a formal expression (in use mostly by media) of two people embracing/hugging each other. Its derivative *«εναγκαλισμός»* [enaŋgali'zmos] (masc.) is preferred in metaphors (e.g "deadly embrace").

(1) is used in the sense of approving an idea/political party/candidate, and following it/him/her, or supporting it/him/her.
(2) is learned, and in every-day language we prefer its derivative *«περίπτυξη»* [pe'riptiksi] (fem. noun) as a formal expression of sexual intercourse.


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## bibax

Grefsen said:


> The Norwegian word "*klemmer" *can mean "hugs" or "clips/clamps."  Thanks to this thread I also just learned that the Norwegian compound word "*hårklemme" *means "hair clip."


In Czech (and also in Polish) klema is a clip, clamp, terminal (obviously from Ger. die Klemme):


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## ThomasK

Grefsen said:


> The Norwegian word "*klemmer" *can mean "hugs" or "clips/clamps."  Thanks to this thread I also just learned that the Norwegian compound word "*hårklemme" *means "hair clip."



In Swedish I find something like 'anamma', which should mean 'embrace' or 'hug'.


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## Anja.Ann

In Italian: "to hug" = "abbracciare" from "braccio" (arm)


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