# back (noun / adverb)



## ThomasK

In English, German and Dutch the word 'back' (as in 'coming back') is based on the part of the body: German *zurück/ der Rücken*, Dutch *terug/ de rug*. Do you have that in your language? 

A brief extra question: in Belgian Dutch there is an extremely strong trend towards using _terug _as meaning 'again', 'anew'. It is strictly speaking not acceptable, but it is extremely common. Can your word for 'back' (referring to a physical back-ward movement) refer to repetition?


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## bibax

Czech:

*zpět* from the noun *pata* = heel;
*vzad* from the noun *záda* = back;


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## apmoy70

In Greek:

Back (the adverb) is «πίσω» ('piso) which derives from the Classical adverb «ὀπίσω» (ŏ'pīsō) or «ὀπίσσω» (ŏ'pīssō)--> _back, behind_, PIE base *epi/*opi-, _near, at, against_.
Back (the part of the body) is:
a/ «Πλάτη» ('plati, _f._)--> _the posterior portion of the trunk of the human body between the neck and the pelvis_, deriving from the Classical feminine noun «πλάτη» (plātē)--> init. _blade of an oar, the oar_, later, _any flat/broad object_; PIE base *pleta-, _broad, flat_.
b/ «Πισινός» (pisi'nos, _m. nominative sing._) or «πισινά» (pisi'na, _n. nominative pl._)--> _the rear end/ends_; modern colloquialism of the Classical neuter noun «ὀπίσθια» (ŏ'pĭstʰīă, o'pisθia in modern pronunciation, _n. nominative pl._)--> _the rear ends, buttocks_, from the Classical adverb «ὀπίσω» (ŏ'pīsō). 
So in Greek, the name for the butt/buttocks is based on the adverb back.
To briefly answer your question, no, we cannot say that in Greek.


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## ThomasK

I see, but one of your words is based on 'the lower end of your back', I understand, and even the other one is based on another part of the body. is that correct ?


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## Fericire

In Portuguese:
Back (body): «Costas»
Back (verb): «Voltar»

«Voltar», depending on context, may mean to retry (repetition).


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## ThomasK

So no link, is there? Doesn't 'voltar' mean jump, or at least turn (while jumping)? No link with a part of the body, I guess.


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## apmoy70

ThomasK said:


> I see, but one of your words is based on 'the lower end of your back', I understand, and even the other one is based on another part of the body. is that correct ?


Yes, the back (posterior part of torso from neck to pelvis) is described by a word that has nothing to do with the adverb back. The rear end/buttocks though, is named after a noun that derives from back


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## Fericire

ThomasK said:


> So no link, is there? Doesn't 'voltar' mean jump, or at least turn (while jumping)? No link with a part of the body, I guess.



There is no direct link between «costas» and «voltar».
«Voltar» means just «to back», but people sometimes say like:
«Ele volta com aquele assunto o tempo todo» («He repeats that matter all the time.»)


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## ThomasK

I understand that, but I find all kinds of meaning of _voltar _(soooo many), which all contain 'again' and/or 'back', and the word volta seems to imply turning (curves, etc.), but no link with any part of the body indeed. Yet,  the word 'buiging' (bowing) in Dutch seems to refer to the back, but I cannot find that meaning in other languages in woxikon.nl.


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## jana.bo99

Slovenian 

back (verb): nazaj
back (body): hrbet

Croatian

back (verb): nazad
back (body): leđa


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## mataripis

Tagalog: 1 .) Back- (part of the body) = Likod   2.)come back- (verb)=  balik      the two words have " LIK"  maybe their root word.  The term for Look back in Tagalog is "Lingon" which has also the link for the word "Likod"(back)  * De pa Dumaget:  1.) back= Idog  2.)go back= ampolang .(there is no link in Dumaget language(or de sorot pa Dumaget)


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## ThomasK

So no links in Slovenian/ Croatian, but there might be one in Tagalog. I do hope there is no mistake: the 2nd _back _is as in _come back _! 

(I suppose there is no link in Dumaget, is there ?)


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## bibax

> So no links in Slovenian/ Croatian, ...


Russian and Croatian *назад, nazad *is similar to the Czech *vzad* (záda = back _noun_) The root *zad*- must be Protoslavic.


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## ThomasK

I see! But then Czech uses a different root as you pointed out, but still, linked to the foot? 



bibax said:


> Czech:
> 
> *zpět* from the noun *pata* = heel;
> *vzad* from the noun *záda* = back;



I might ask a Polish student about that... Thanks!


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## Encolpius

*magyar*

back n. = hát
back adv. = hátra, more common: vissza [unknown etymology]


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## Määränpää

*Finnish*

back n. = _selkä_
back adv. = _takaisin_ (_taka_- = behind)


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## Gavril

Welsh
*cefn *"back (part of the body)"
*tu ôl *_/_* tu cefn *"back (of an object)"
*yn ôl *"back" (adverb)
*tuag yn ôl *"backwards"
_(*y*) *tu ôl** i */* tu cefn i* _"behind"

Common elements in the last four phrases are _*tu*_ "side" and *ôl* "mark, track".


Armenian
- Western *կռնակ *(_grnag_), Eastern *մէջք *(_mechk'_) /* թիկունք* (_t'ikunk'_)"back (of the body)"
- Western *ետեւի մաս *(_yedevi mas_), Eastern *ետեւ *(y_etev_) “back part (of something)”
*- ետ *(Western _yed, _Eastern _yet_) "backwards"


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## ThomasK

So there does not often seem to be a link between _back _and _back _in other languages. 

But there is in Welsh, I notice. Gavril's notes on Welsh reminded me of *'hill ridge' *and* '[a person's] back'*, both called *'rug' *in Dutch, and according to etymonline.org there might be a distinction not made in Dutch, but made in English between the back of an animal, i.e., the 'upper side', the spine, maybe shoulders (horseback) and a man's back. That could account for that _ridge/ back _distinction in English - a link pointed out also by Apmoy in #3... 



> Many Indo-European languages show signs of once having distinguished the horizontal back of an animal (or a mountain range) from the upright back of a human. In other cases, a modern word for "back" may come from a word related to "spine" (Italian _schiena_, Russian _spina_) or "shoulder, shoulder blade" (Spanish espalda, Polish plecy).




As for Armenian: I am not sure if there is a link. Could you tell me, Gavril? (I don't quite understand the references to West/ East, I mean)


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## arielipi

In hebrew the word back comes from a root which also can be said for repetition, though it is not connected to either of what you said.
Gav is back as in part of body, and we simply do not have a one word for going backward.


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## ThomasK

Well, that is a problem in Dutch for some: we have different forms for moving back to a place (*terug*) and we have _*opnieuw, *_meaning _(again, de nouveau, wieder _in German). Both is mixed up by quite of lot of Flemish people, though there is *weer *(German _wieder/ wider_), which can mean both. 

There are also different verb prefixes: when returning we use verbs with _*terug*- _(weer- maybe), when doing something again, we use verbs beginning with _*her*_- (Eng./ Fr. _re-/ré_).


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## Gavril

> As for Armenian: I am not sure if there is a link. Could you tell me, Gavril? (I don't quite understand the references to West/ East, I mean)



There doesn't seem to be a link in Armenian, at least when it comes to the "backs" of humans (I'm not sure what the Armenian terms are for "horseback" or the back of other animals).

Western and Eastern are the two standard forms of modern Armenian, which differ greatly from each other in vocabulary, pronunciation etc.


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## rusita preciosa

In Russian it does not refer to the back but rather to a lower body part...

*назад* /nazad/ - back, backward
*зад */zad/ - butt, backside


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## ThomasK

I see, I would not call that that the back, but it is interesting. BTW: could that also be something like the rear in English? 

As for Armenian: so there is some link between 'backwards' and 'back' in Armenian, isn't there?


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## Gavril

ThomasK said:


> As for Armenian: so there is some link between 'backwards' and 'back' in Armenian, isn't there?



I'm not sure what you mean. As I wrote in the last post, there *doesn't* seem to be a link in Armenian between "back (part of the body)" and "back (direction)".

There is a link, though, between "back" in a more general sense (_The back of the house_) and "backwards": both contain the element *ետ *(_yet_ / _yed_), which is thought to be composed of the same root seen in English *foot*, Latin _*pes*_, etc., plus the prefix **y- *"in".


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## ThomasK

Ah, that might be what I was looking for, as that is what the English refer to as 'rear', I believe. I now found that that refers to 'retro' in Latin, which, I thought for a sec, meant "'(the) back", but that might be wrong.


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## Outsider

Fericire said:


> There is no direct link between «costas» and «voltar».
> «Voltar» means just «to back», but people sometimes say like:
> «Ele volta com aquele assunto o tempo todo» («He repeats that matter all the time.»)


I must disagree with Fericire. The basic meaning of *voltar* is to turn, and the noun *volta* means turn or tour, while the basic meaning of *costa(s)* is "back" in the anatomical sense. There is no etymological connection between these two Portuguese words, although it's true that *voltar* can mean "to turn (back)", and *de volta* means "again".

P.S. The closest connection between the two ideas is probably in the words *traseira/traseiro* (noun), "back", "behind" (including the anatomical sense of "behind", though not of "back") and *trás/atrás* (preposition) "back", "behind".


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## ThomasK

@Outsider: Five years after your answer: does the traseira/ traseira refer to someone's bottom? I had not understood it that way, but I now think of that…

For the time being I think words for 'back' (in 'come back') sometimes refer to the back (West Germanic), the heel(s) (Czech), the bottom/ behind (Greek, Portuguese)…


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