Reconstruction:Proto-Ryukyuan/nisi

This Proto-Ryukyuan 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-Ryukyuan

Etymology

From Proto-Japonic *nisi (“west”). The general Ryukyuan term for "west" is *iroe.

Noun

*nisi

1. north

   Synonym: *kita (obsolete)

2. (obsolete) west

Reconstruction notes

This word has been preserved in the Ryukyus with the general meaning "north". In Northern Amami-Oshima, the word means "west; north wind", which suggests either a conservatism or influence from Japanese.

Descendants

• Northern Ryukyuan:
  • Kikai: 北 (nishi)
  • Kunigami: 北 (nishī)
  • Northern Amami-Oshima: 西 (nishi, “west”)
  • Okinawan: 北 (nishi)
  • Oki-No-Erabu: 北 (nishi)
  • Southern Amami-Oshima: 北 (nish)
  • Toku-No-Shima: 北 (nisï)
  • Yoron: 北 (nishi)
• Southern Ryukyuan:
  • Miyako: 北 (nisï)
  • Yaeyama: 北 (nisï)
  • Yonaguni: 北 (nichi)

Further reading

• Jarosz, Alexandra (2023) “Common Kyushu-Ryukyuan substratum in maritime vocabulary: A preliminary analysis”, in The Poznań Society for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 7-46