Lately, to the bewilderment of etymologists, through Forensic Linguistics the source of the English term "shackle" was discovered in Old and Classical Arabic.  Hitherto, the term was thought to be of  Germanic origin (see the definition in the Oxford English Dictionary below). Can you guess what is this mysterious source of the term "shackle" in the Arabic language?
 

THE ANSWER IS: 
 

THE WINNERS: 
 
 
 
 
 

From this root in Old Arabic we got derivatives like  'Ishkal and Mushkilah, translated as "entangled and/or dubious problem or impediment" , terms which have been retained in our Modern Arabic Language. 

Some might wonder about this astonishing case of identical terms shared solely between the Arabic and the Germanic languages,  including the English language.

I might add that this connection has been hitherto overlooked by linguists. What is interesting is that the word until now was considered among the essential vocabulary of the Germanic and Indo-European languages. A false assumption which prompted linguists to venture in offering even fictitious bogus reconstructions i.e.  *shakulo , pre Teutonic *Shak ,or *Keg (see for yourself below  the etymological entry of " Shackle" in the OED)

We all know that words as artifacts do not move of their own  volition, nor are they capable of biological breeding.  Therefore it is reasonable to assume that if we detect similarities in the vocabulary of different languages, this must be a definite sign of diffusion.  In simple terms this means that there was some movement of the mental templates which produced the term(s) and these invariably, are communicated by people. Thus we can infer that the term spread from one point to another.  Unless the similarities are extremely vague and tenuous, the latter explanation is demanded.  As we can see, the proof in this case points without a shadow of a doubt  to the fact that the terms "Shakal" in Arabic and the English "shackle" are identical. 
 

Now for the skeptics.  To rule out any case of accidental homonym in a datum, the investigation is further extended to a constellation of synonyms and derivatives.  This will establish sets of equations, known as identical correspondences, in a consistent and systematic manner.  Since cognates combine the arbitrariness of sound and meaning, lexical innovations are particularly important.  Using the "Shackle" theme, thus the further inclusion of more identical synonyms will be the subject of our upcoming riddles. 

Stay tuned.

Ishinan 

© Ishinan 2005