Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ʔamat-

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

Etymology

A baby’s word for its maid.

Noun

*ʔamat- f

1. maid, maidservant

Inflection

Declension of *ʔamat-

case	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*ʔamatum	*ʔamatāna	*ʔamātum
accusative	*ʔamatam	*ʔamatayna	*ʔamātim
genitive	*ʔamatim
possessive forms
1st person	*ʔamatī / *ʔamatVya	—	*ʔamatVni
2nd person m	*ʔamatVka	*ʔamatVkumā / *ʔamatVkumay	*ʔamatVkum(ū)
2nd person f	*ʔamatVki		*ʔamatVkin(ā)
3rd person m	*ʔamatVšu	*ʔamatVšumā / *ʔamatVšumay	*ʔamatVšum(ū)
3rd person f	*ʔamatVša		*ʔamatVšin(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: *ʔamatuya for nom. case, *ʔamatiya for gen. case, *ʔamataya for acc. case, etc.

Descendants

• East Semitic:
  • Akkadian: 𒊩𒆳 (amtum)
• West Semitic:
  • Central Semitic:
    • Arabic: أَمَة (ʔama)
    • Northwest Semitic:
      • Aramaic:

        Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַמְתָא (ʾamṯā)

        • Classical Mandaic: ࡀࡌࡕࡀ (ʾamtā)
        • Classical Syriac: ܐܰܡܬܳܐ (ʾamṯā)
      • Canaanite:
        • Hebrew: אָמָה ('amá, ʾāmâ)
        • Phoenician: 𐤀𐤌𐤕 (ʾmt)
      • Ugaritic: 𐎀𐎎𐎚 (ảmt /⁠ʾamatu⁠/)
    • Old South Arabian:
      • Sabaean: 𐩱𐩣𐩩 (ʾmt)
      • Qatabanian: 𐩱𐩣𐩩 (ʾmt)
  • Ethiopian Semitic:
    • Ge'ez: አመት (ʾämät)
      • → Amharic: አመት (ʾamät)
    • Tigre: አመት (ʾämät)

References

• Goetze, Albrecht (1947) “Short or Long a? (Notes on Some Akkadian Words)”, in Orientalia‎^[1], volume 16, number 2, page 240
• 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 237
• Nöldeke, Theodor (1910) Neue Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft‎^[2] (in German), Straßburg: Karl J. Trübner, pages 129–130