Words Travel on Beasts of Burden

     Finally, another English word that comes from Hebrew, so rare, so hard to find. 

     Now "camel" comes to my notice and, like "sack" from Hebrew, it's a word that gets around.  Sacks in which goods were held were on camels' backs on the trading routes of the ancient world, from Southeast Asia through South Asia, to the Middle East, including Israel, and even reached Europe by trade with Greece and Rome; Rome traded with Germanic tribes and brought these words from Latin into Germanic tongues, and thence Old English.

     Yes, CAMELS got around that way, and so did SACKS, sacks of goods that people wanted along all those trade routes. And the people of other tongues heard the words: 

     "If that's what they call this awesome beast of burden, then we must too!"

                    Please see the "Word History" of "sack" in the American Heritage Dictionary!