Reconstruction:Proto-Japonic/təwə
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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
[edit]| ← 1 | ← 9 | 10 | 1,000 → | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| Cardinal: *təwə | ||||
Etymology
[edit]Possibly cognate with Goguryeo 德 (*tək).
According to Ono (1970), related to *tawa or *təwə (“bend”) from the common hand-counting method of showing the number 10 by bending all fingers over the bent thumb, although this is rejected by Miller (1971), who instead proposed a relationship with Proto-Tungusic *ʒuban (“ten”).
However, the Altaic hypothesis is nowadays widely rejected, so the Tungusic comparison remains unlikely.
Numeral
[edit]*təwə