Is the language of Fonrit based on Hebrew?

[EricJ]

I ask because of this coincidence: Slaves who own slaves are known as Yad Slaves, or Hand Slaves. In Hebrew, yad (pl. yadim, dual yadiem) means 'hand'.

 

[PhilHibbs]

Probably a bit of a stretch - there are a lot of english words that have been borrowed from hebrew and yiddish, and it may be that the author just happened to know that one word from a colloquialism.

 

[simonh]

Yad is also Arabic for hand.

Simon Hibbs

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

It's really hard to tell... however, it's most likely just an appropriation.

As has been pointed out, Hebrew and Arabic are both Semitic languages... and to muddy the waters, there are also a lot of loan words knocking about.

However, given that Fronrit has a sort of Arabic/Circassian Mamluk/North-West African vibe... it's more likely that Arabic offered the inspiration.