Satan
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Root
sata
to insult, to revile, to speak against, to accuse openly
Satan from Shona sata, to revile, to speak against, to accuse
- Confidence
- 58/100
- Root language
- Shona
- Descent begins
- SatanEnglish
The consensus position
Mainstream comparative linguistics derives English Satan from Old English Satan, borrowed from Latin Satanas, from Greek Σατανᾶς, from Aramaic sāṭānā and ultimately Hebrew śāṭān, a noun built on the root ś-ṭ-n meaning adversary or accuser. No relationship to Bantu is recognised, and Shona Satani is classed as a mission-era loan out of that same chain.
The working behind this.
The full descent — 9 links from the attested form down to the root — the segment-by-segment correspondences, the phonological breakdown and the case for the derivation are behind an account.
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