From: benlizro@ihug.co.nz   
      
   On 9/10/2025 6:20 a.m., HenHanna@NewsGrouper wrote:   
   >   
   > In  Amharic ,   [qum]   means  to Stop  (for males)   
      
   Records indicate that I used to have a proper Amharic dictionary; it   
   probably got lost in the move from office to home.   
      
   But the Lonely Planet Ethiopian Amharic Phrasebook will do for now.   
   It seems to mean "Stop!", like a cop might shout at you, or a sign.   
   "for males" because Amharic inflects second person subject verbs for gender.   
      
   > It looks  like   
   >   
   >          Φgo          Greek, phi (Φ)  go   
      
   The "phi" part is /q/.   
      
   > Or the 1st char  looks like  the Kanji for insect   
   > 虫   
      
   The little branch to the right in Amharic makes it /qu/.   
      
   The "go" part is really "oo" (connected, like a pince-nez) which is /m/.   
   The down-stroke makes it /mə/, according to my source.   
      
   >   
   >   昆虫 (こんちゅう)   
      
   Japanese /konchuu/, Mandarin /kūnchóng/ 'insect'.   
   However, it's the 虫 (chuu, chóng) part that seems to have the core   
   meaning (insect).   
   The 昆 (kon,kūn) might originally have meant 'swarm' or some such.   
   I conjecture that on the basis of the fact that kanji dictionary says   
   kon can also mean 'swarm of insects'; and also the presence of other   
   meanings 'progeny, offspring' in both J and M. Cf. also its use in   
   /konbu/ 'sea tangle, kelp, devil's apron'.   
      
      
   >    This script (Amharic  writing) is related to Greek ?   
      
   Yes.   
      
   >          It looks a bit  like  Thai.   
   >   
      
   Probably related to that, too.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)