Rose

🏷  Semitic hidden ruler pun spook name · name   —   by Gerry · Nov 2018 · 646 words

One explanation for the aristocratic name Rose, and variants like Ross & Rush, may be a pun with the Semitic term ראש rˀš rosh meaning “head”, “chief”, “master”, “captain”. For N-suffixed names like Rosen, there’s an additional pun with Semitic רוזן rwzn rozen meaning “prince” & “ruler”. Spook aristocrats who feign to be commoners love to tell us who they really are, just without us noticing.

Semitic rosh for “head” & “chief”

The Semitic word ראש rˀš rosh for “head” was a very common designation and prefix for many titles of the highest rank in the ancient world, just like in modern English. In Hebrew there are already many suffixed variants of the term, all having to do with being “head” or “chief” or “first”.

Combined with the Latin pun suffix -Velt, a Roose-Velt would then stand for a “veiled leader”.

Hebrew, Aramaic rˀš, ryš = head, chief, master

ראש rˀš rosh : head, beginning, best, bodyguard, captain, chief, company, finest, first, leader, master, summit, top, topmost — Old Hebrew (Strong)

ראשה rˀšh roshah : top — Old Hebrew (Strong)

ראשון rˀšwn rishon : chief, earlier, first, first one, forefathers, foremost, former, front, older, one in front — Old Hebrew (Strong)

ראשני rˀšny rishoni : first — Old Hebrew (Strong)

ראשית rˀšyt reshit : beginning, choicest, finest, first, foremost — Old Hebrew (Strong)

רישנו ryšnw rēšānū : government, rulership; status as prince or ruler; status as head of an academy; dominion, governance; power, source of fundamental governance; beginning, early stages — Aramaic (CAL)

The very same word rˀš for “head” is even a Biblical name: Rosh.

ראש rˀš Rosh : Rosh, the name of an Israelite and of a foreign nation — Old Hebrew (Strong)

Since many other spook names are titles of some sort, this is the most straightforward explanation.

Semitic rozen for “prince” & “ruler”

For N-suffixed forms, and especially the name Rosen, there is also a very good pun with the Semitic title רוזן rwzn rozen, which means “prince” & “ruler”. For details, see the Rosen article.

Modern Rose variants

A step-wise derivation from Rosh to Rosen and many other variants can be constructed. Many of these variants are rare though, so this is not definite proof, but merely a possibility.

(Note: The suffix -Berg puns with Semitic burqa for “veiled”. The suffix -Feld puns with the English word “veiled” itself.)

R-S words with widely differing meanings are used (Rose = rose, Ross = horse, Rauschen = rustle, Rasen = grass), but they are all written alike. This proves at the very least that the name is a transcription of something, rather than a translation.

1000s of people named with Rose variants are listed on ThePeerage.com. They are often combined with spooky suffixes like -Berg, -Baum, -Velt. The most common variants in the peerage are:

Possible variants in Greek & Latin

In Greek, the Biblical name is transcribed as Ρως Ros.

and the sons of Benjamin; Bala, and Bochor, and Asbel. And the sons of Bala were Gera, and Noeman, and Anchis, and Ros, and Mamphim. And Gera begot Arad.

υἱοὶ δὲ Βενιαμιν· Βαλα καὶ Χοβωρ καὶ Ασβηλ. ἐγένοντο δὲ υἱοὶ Βαλα· Γηρα καὶ Νοεμαν καὶ Αγχις καὶ Ρως καὶ Μαμφιν καὶ Οφιμιν· Γηρα δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Αραδ.

LXX Genesis 46:21

Coincidentally, this is also the Greek spelling for the Vikings and for the Rus people after whom Russia is named.

The particles ראש rˀš and רש rš for “head” are attested for Phoenician and Punic proper names. Also attested is a possible variant רשא ršˀ, again explained as meaning head.

Phoenician רשׁ, ראש (in proper name), Punic rus (in proper name, of a location) Schröd Phoenician Spr.133

Brown-Driver-Briggs 7218

🏷  Semitic hidden ruler pun spook name · name