Reconstruction:Proto-Japonic/su

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This Proto-Japonic 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-Japonic

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Etymology 1

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Noun

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*su

  1. nest
Descendants
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  • Old Japanese: (su)
    • Japanese: (su)
  • Proto-Ryukyuan: *su
    • Northern Ryukyuan:
      • Kikai: ()
      • Kunigami: (shī)
      • Northern Amami Ōshima: (sï, shi)
      • Okinawan: (shī)
      • Okinoerabu: (shī)
      • Southern Amami Ōshima: (sïï)
      • Tokunoshima: (sïï)
      • Yoron: (shī)
    • Southern Ryukyuan:
      • Miyako: (sïï)
      • Yaeyama: (sïï)
      • Yonaguni: (chī)

Etymology 2

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Perhaps a native Japanese term, with the su reading somehow related to the way that very sour things cause one to pucker.

Alternatively, may be a prehistoric borrowing from Middle Chinese (MC tshuH), borrowed earlier than the systematic introduction of kanji (vinegar was historically introduced to Japan in the 300-400s from China), and then later mistaken as a native Japanese term. Compare modern Mandarin () or Cantonese (cou3).

Noun

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*su

  1. vinegar
Descendants
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  • Old Japanese: (su)
    • Japanese: (su)
  • Proto-Ryukyuan: *su
    • Northern Ryukyuan:
      • Kunigami: (shī)
      • Northern Amami Ōshima: (shi, sïï)
      • Okinawan: (shī)
      • Okinoerabu: (shī)
      • Southern Amami Ōshima: (sïï)
    • Southern Ryukyuan:
      • Miyako: (sïï)
      • Yaeyama: (sïï)

Etymology 3

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Reconstruction

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Deriving this verb from a stem *səy- has been proposed on the basis of an imperative *sə and the Japanese stem forms in se-, except that this contradicts the normal development of the diphthong -əy in Japanese, which should develop into /i/ instead of /e/.

In Japanese, the se- forms are mostly regular for the 下二段活用 (shimo nidan katsuyō, lower bigrade conjugation) pattern, raising the possibility that the above irregular phonetic development may instead be a regular conjugational shift.

Verb

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*su

  1. to become, happen, occur
  2. to do
Descendants
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