Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ʔināš-

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

*ʔināš- m

1. human

Reconstruction notes

Kogan considers the first vowel to be indeterminate and reconstructs *ʔVnāš-.

Inflection

Declension of *ʔināš-

case	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*ʔināšum	*ʔināšāna	plural stem + *-ūna
accusative	*ʔināšam	*ʔināšayna	plural stem + *-īna
genitive	*ʔināšim
possessive forms
1st person	*ʔināšī / *ʔināšVya	—	*ʔināšVni
2nd person m	*ʔināšVka	*ʔināšVkumā / *ʔināšVkumay	*ʔināšVkum(ū)
2nd person f	*ʔināšVki		*ʔināšVkin(ā)
3rd person m	*ʔināšVšu	*ʔināšVšumā / *ʔināšVšumay	*ʔināšVšum(ū)
3rd person f	*ʔināšVša		*ʔināšVšin(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: *ʔināšuya for nom. case, *ʔināšiya for gen. case, *ʔināšaya for acc. case, etc.

Descendants

• East Semitic:
  • Akkadian: 𒈬 (nīšum, “life”), 𒌦𒎌 (nišū, “people”)
• West Semitic:
  • Central Semitic:
    • Arabic: إِنَاس (ʔinās), أُنَاس (ʔunās), نَاس (nās)
      • Maltese: nies
    • Northwest Semitic:
      • Aramaic:

        Biblical Aramaic: אֱנָשׁ (ʾĕnāš)

        Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אִינָשׁ (ʾīnāš, pronoun), אִינָשָׁא (ʾīnāšā)

        • Classical Syriac: ܐܶܢܳܫܳܐ (ʾenāšā)
      • Canaanite:
        • Hebrew: אֱנוֹשׁ m (enósh, ʾĕnôš) (also claimed to be an old borrowing from Aramaic)
  • Ethiopian Semitic:
    • Harari: [script needed] (insi)
    • Tigre: እናስ (ʾənas)
  • Modern South Arabian:
    • Mehri: ʔans
    • Soqotri: ʔinsíyye

See also

• *ʔinš- (“man, person”)

References

• Kogan, Leonid (2011) “Proto-Semitic Lexicon”, in Weninger, Stefan, editor, The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook (Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft – Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science; 36), Berlin: De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 232