MORON

From Book of Mormon Onomasticon
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Jaredite PN 1. JAREDITE king, son of ETHEM (Ether 1:7, 8; 11:14 (x3), 15, 16, 18 (x2))
Jaredite GN 2. Land on northern border of DESOLATION by narrow neck of land, also a city (Ether 7:5, 6; 14:6, 11)

Etymology

Until possible language affinities for JAREDITE names can be determined, all suggestions for etymologies of JAREDITE names must remain more speculative than substantive. With that caveat, the onomasticon does offer etymologies for some JAREDITE names, especially if it is possible that some JAREDITE names were translated into NEPHITE, or were otherwise related to one or more Semitic languages.

Although the origin and etymology of JAREDITE names are quite uncertain, some suggestions might be made. If MORON is from a Semitic root, it may be from the West Semitic mrʾ, "lord," with the attenuation (softening) of the aleph, as in mrn, "our lord," in Hatrean texts. If biblical GNs may be appealed to, there are two Palestinian place-names resembling MORON, the Talmudic Meron, a city in Upper Galilee, and the biblical GN מרנת *mēronōt, known only from the gentilic mēronotī (1 Chronicles 27:30 and Nehemiah 3:7) Somewhat less likely is a hypocoristicon "(my) lord," from Aramaic marōn, "lord," plus the 1c.s. possessive suffix or hypocoristic ending, or a derivation from the HEBREW marōn, "rebellion," attested in the Mishnaic dialect.

Also possible is derivation from Hebrew מור mor, Arabic morron "myrrh," the very important incense grown in South Arabia.[1]

Cf. Book of Mormon MORONI, AMARON, AMMORON, AMORON, EMRON, MORONIHAH, MORMON, MORIANTON, MORIANTUM, et al.

Variants

Deseret Alphabet: 𐐣𐐄𐐡𐐊𐐤 (moʊrʌn), 𐐣𐐃𐐡𐐊𐐤 (mɔːrʌn)

Notes


  1. Robert F. Smith “Some ‘Neologisms’ from the Mormon Canon,” 1973 Conference on the Language of the Mormons, May 31, 1973 (Provo: BYU Language Research Center, 1973), 65, online at https://www.scribd.com/document/363522963/SOME-NEOLOGISMS-FROM-THE-MORMON-CANON, citing Gus Van Beek, “Rise and Fall of Arabia Felix,” in Scientific American, 221 (December 1969):36-46; Van Beek, “Frankincense and Myrrh,” Biblical Archaeologist, 23 (September 1960):69-95.
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