Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ʔaḫw-

This Proto-Semitic 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-Semitic

Noun

*ʔaḫw- m (plural *ʔaḫan)

1. brother

Inflection

Declension of *ʔaḫw-

case	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*ʔaḫwum	*ʔaḫwāna	*ʔaḫanūna
accusative	*ʔaḫwam	*ʔaḫwayna	*ʔaḫanīna
genitive	*ʔaḫwim
possessive forms
1st person	*ʔaḫwī / *ʔaḫwVya	—	*ʔaḫwVni
2nd person m	*ʔaḫwVka	*ʔaḫwVkumā / *ʔaḫwVkumay	*ʔaḫwVkum(ū)
2nd person f	*ʔaḫwVki		*ʔaḫwVkin(ā)
3rd person m	*ʔaḫwVšu	*ʔaḫwVšumā / *ʔaḫwVšumay	*ʔaḫwVšum(ū)
3rd person f	*ʔaḫwVša		*ʔaḫwVšin(ā)

the endings -m and -na are dropped in the bound form, which may also undergo syncopation of an unstressed final vowel where possible. Note: the ending -V before the possessive endings responds to case: *ʔaḫwuya for nom. case, *ʔaḫwiya for gen. case, *ʔaḫwaya for acc. case, etc.

Coordinate terms

• *bin-
• *bint-
• *ʔabw-
• *ʔaḫwat-
• *ʔimm-

Derived terms

• *ʔaḫwat- (“sister”)

Descendants

• East Semitic:
  • Akkadian: 𒋀 (aḫum)
• West Semitic:
  • Central Semitic:
    • Arabic: أَخ (ʔaḵ)
      • Gulf Arabic: أخو (uḵu)
      • Maltese: ħu
      • Moroccan Arabic: أخ (ʔaḵḵ), (construct state) خو (ḵū), (construct state) خا (ḵā)
      • → English: ock, akh, akhi
      • → Malayalam: ഇക്ക (ikka)
      • → Portuguese: Lafões
    • Northwest Semitic:
      • Aramaic:

        Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אֲחָא (ʾăḥā)

        • Classical Syriac: ܐܰܚܳܐ (ʾaḥā)
      • Canaanite:
        • Hebrew: אָח ('ákh, ʾāḥ)
        • Phoenician: 𐤀𐤇 (ʾḥ)
          • Punic: 𐤀𐤇 (ʾḥ)
      • Ugaritic: 𐎀𐎃 (ảḫ /⁠ʾaḫu⁠/)
    • Old South Arabian:
      • Hadrami: 𐩱𐩭 (ʾḫ)
      • Minaean: 𐩱𐩭 (ʾḫ)
      • Qatabanian: 𐩱𐩭 (ʾḫ)
      • Sabaean: 𐩱𐩭 (ʾḫ)
  • Ethiopian Semitic:
    • Argobba: አህ (äh)
    • Ge'ez: እኍ (ʾəḫʷ), አኀው (ʾäḫäw, plural)
    • Harari: እሕ (əḥ)
    • Tigre: ሑ (ḥu)
    • Tigrinya: ሓወ (ḥawä)

References

• John Huehnergard (2019) “Proto-Semitic”, in The Semitic Languages‎^[1], 2nd edition, Routledge, →ISBN