ܙܳܓܳܐ zgʾ zāggā, fem. ܙܵܓܬܵܐ zgtʾ zāḡtā the young (of a chicken)
Derivatives: ܙܲܓܙܘܼܓܵܐ zgzwgʾ zaḡzūḡā child; ܐܹܙܕܲܓܙܲܓ ʾzdgzg ezdaḡzaḡ to become a child again, to act as a child
There are two possible models of the borrowing: MP zādag [zʾtk'] born, child (CPD 97); ManMP zʾdg /zādag/ child, son (Durkin-Meisterernst 2004, 379); NP zāda id. (Steingass 606; Horn 143); or MP zahag [zhk', (zʾhk')] child, offspring (CPD 97); ManMP and ManParth. zhg /zahag/ offspring, progeny, child (Durkin-Meisterernst 2004, 381 f.); NP zah bringing forth, child-birth, offspring of men (or of cattle), male seed (Steingass 630). See also Arm. LW jag young dog; NP zāq the young of anything (Steingass 606). In fact, the formation of zgʾ is not completely clear: the geminated -gg- presupposes an assimilation, but usually such assimilations in Syriac involve clusters of a nasal followed by a plosive; on the contrary, if we assume that the Syr. word was borrowed from MP zādag, we have to presume an assimilation of two plosives, namely MP zādag ® Syr. *zād(a)gā > zāggā. Only little easier is to suppose an assimilation starting from MP zahag, where we would have a cluster of a voiceless fricative followed by a plosive: normally Ir. /h/ is rendered in Syriac with h or ḥ, especially in internal position (see § 11.3.3). In both cases, the Syriac word presupposes the loss of the short -a- in closed syllable of the MP model (see § 11.3.6) ● zgʾ EN 45, 27; BA 3418; BB 675, 2; ON 15, 13; zgzwgʾ BB 675, 6; TA 40, 221; ʾzdgzg JSB 5, 859u ◆ LS 188b; Lagarde 41, 104