Reconstruction:Proto-Bantu/mʊ̀bɪ́dɪ́

This Proto-Bantu entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Bantu

Noun

*mʊ̀bɪ́dɪ́ class 3 (plural *mɪ̀bɪ́dɪ́ class 4)

1. (Common Bantu) Canarium schweinfurthii

Usage notes

This term is shared between many Bantu languages, but a single form cannot be formally reconstructed to the level of Proto-Bantu because of historical or linguistic considerations. This word is restricted to Western Bantu languages and has no known cognates outside of Bantu, indicating that it replaced the Proto-Bantu word *mʊ̀pátù.

Descendants

• Duma (B51): mubili
• Ewondo (A72): abel
• Kumu (D23): bili

References

• Bostoen, Koen (2014), "Wild trees in the subsistence economy of early Bantu speech communities: a historical-linguistic approach", in Dorian Q. Fuller and Mary Anne Murray (eds.), African Flora, Past Cultures and Archaeobotany. Proceedings of the Fifth International Workshop for African Archaeobotany, London, 3–5 July, 2006 (Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press), 129–140.