5) Key
With that small erratum behind us, let's get back to the main subject of this video: human beings's fascination for that which STaNDs STiLL and uPRiGhT - « ShaTa » or « STa », as you like. To begin this long journey through « ShaTa », I suggest we start with the French verb « ester », which is rarely used, except if you're a lawyer.
« Ester », means to appear before a CouRT. « Ester » is a foundational word, conveying par excellence the idea of being a member of the human community, a community organized by iNSTiTutions. « Ester » is in fact almost as important as « être » (to be), to which I'll return soon.
It's also the origin of the word « éTaGe », or SToRy (FLooR) - where you live - as well as the word « STaGe » (which in French means iNTeRNship and was originally the preliminary STay of young canons in their ChuRCh). In English there's also « SeT », which means many things, but first and foremost to SeTTLe, often in a FoRMal and institutional context.
« ShaTa » appears also in several Hebrew words. First there’s SheʔeT, which has a variety of meanings, the most common being that of elevation, STRenGth, MaJeSTy, and dignity - for instance in Genesis, chapter 49, verse 3, when Jacob blesses his eldest son Reuben, telling him that he is the first in dignity « yeTeR SheʔeT » (yeTeR, our now familiar surplus).
There's also ShaTaH, with two meanings: to drink, to which I'll return in my next video, and to iNSTaLL, to FouND, for instance in the Psalms or the book of Isaiah. With the same meaning of « to install », there's ShaTaT, which means to elevate, to RaiSe up, found in the Psalms. But the most important is the verb ShiYT, to SeT, to FiX, which appears ... everywhere in the Old Testament - precisely 85 times.
Of course, « ShaTa » is also fundamental in Arabic. It appears frequently (exactly 12 times) in the Koran, along with ʔiSTawa (that which is eSTaBLished), for example in Sura Younous, verse 3. ʔiSTawa, that everyone mistakenly associates with the root « Sa Wa ʔa », but we'll come back to this shortly.
And finally, in Egyptian, the same meaning of to SeT, to fix, to eReCT with a strong iNSTiTutional and FoRMal undertone, is found in SeT the king's ThRoNe, the place where the dead SiT, the palace, the ReSiDence, the home, the tomb, a PoSition, a rank. Exactly the same meaning of oFFiCial dignity and foundation as in French, English, Hebrew, and Arabic.
« ShaTa » therefore means to PuT DoWN, to STaND, to appear, to hold an oFFiCial PoSition. That's a lot of convoluted meanings. Let's try to untangle them one by one, starting with the most « visual » meaning: to stand VeRTically, uPRiGhT,eReCT.
In Greek, iSTèmi means to put in an upright position, to lift, to FiX, to stand. Many words derive from it, including STaSis, the action of putting upright or holding oneself upright, and which appears for instance with a prefix, in ecstasy, the sensation of moving outside oneself. Then there's STyLos, the PiLLaR, the CoLuMN, from which comes STyLe. I know that some people compare style to STiLus (which we'll look at in a moment), but style is first and foremost the different ShaPes of a column: Ionic, Doric, Corinthian...
Then there's STèma, which means the stand, what's standing and, yes, the PeNis. From STèma comes « STeM » and another very important word, SuSTèma, the system, the assembly, the combination - which I'll come back to in my next video...
Hey, why are you laughing at the back of the room? All right, I get it. Well, since we're going to keep on talking about hard STeMs standing upright, it's time I cooled the excitement of the fans of Freudian psychoanalysis. No, « ShaTa » isn't just a phallic fantasy, it's much more beautiful and important, so let your excitement « subside » and STay focused, will you?
Let's get back to iSTèmi. Another derivative of this word is iSTos, which means a VeRTical STiCk, but also the vertical CoiL of the LooM that holds the ThReaDs of the warp, and by extension, the fabric or TiSSue - are you hearing this? SToS, SheSh, tissue .... Tissue appears in our prefix hiSTo--; for instance, in histology, the study of living tissue, and in the verb to « TWiST »: to WiND two threads around each other.
Similarly in the field of WeaVing (« TiSSage » in French aka the art of « TiSSue making ») the WaRP, (« ChaîNe » in French), CRiSSCRoSSing with the WeFT, (« TRaMe »), is STèmon in Greek, and SheTy in Hebrew, while LiNeN is PiShTeH. And since you watched my previous video, you'll recall that the ChaiN is ShaRShaR.
« But then is weaving Greek? Hebrew? Akkadian? Latin? ». All of the above and more, my friends! All these languages use the same sounds when speaking about weaving because this technology emerged at a time when linguistic divergence was still limited (we'll come back to weaving shortly).
Meanwhile, also deriving from iSTèmi, we have « SToicism », the doctrine of accepting one's DeSTiNy, be it good or bad, with dignity, CheST uPRiGhT, like a STaNDing SToNe. And chest is STéRnon or STèṬos, the origin of STeRNum, the BoNe in front of our RiBCaGe that stands STRaiGhT. In the same vein, « BuST » comes from the Gallic bustim. Remember, France has always been the eldest daughter of the Church, long before there was a Church and long before there were Jews.
Alright, I see what you're up to. You're probably thinking, as I did when I began my research, that our ancestors were fascinated by the STaNDing SToNes, which stood the test of time and as witnesses of commitments, like in the story of Jacob and Laban.
And you're not wrong, for « ShaTa » is often related to the meaning of something HaRD, for example in STeLe STèLè in Greek, a block of stone, or in STéRéos which means to be firm, TouGh, eNDuRing, like a stone. A STeReoTyPe is something hard to ChaNGe - but we'll talk more about stereotypes in a few minutes...
« ShaTa » is also found in oSTéoN, as well as in the Sanskrit aSThi, meaning the BoNe, the stone of a fruit, the hard part of a thing. And finally, in STéaR, solid FaT, like lard or TaLLow, used to make stearin candles. Tallow was very important in the Paleolithic - specially to SoFTen HiDes...