Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/labiʔ-

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

From Proto-Afroasiatic *labiʔ-. Gamkrelidze & Ivanov argue on the possibility of borrowing into Proto-Indo-European *lewo-, though it remains debatable.

Noun

*labiʔ- or *labuʔ- m

1. lion

Inflection

Declension of *labiʔ-

case	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*labiʔum	*labiʔāna	plural stem + *-ūna
accusative	*labiʔam	*labiʔayna	plural stem + *-īna
genitive	*labiʔim
possessive forms
1st person	*labiʔī / *labiʔVya	—	*labiʔVni
2nd person m	*labiʔVka	*labiʔVkumā / *labiʔVkumay	*labiʔVkum(ū)
2nd person f	*labiʔVki		*labiʔVkin(ā)
3rd person m	*labiʔVšu	*labiʔVšumā / *labiʔVšumay	*labiʔVšum(ū)
3rd person f	*labiʔVša		*labiʔVšin(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: *labiʔuya for nom. case, *labiʔiya for gen. case, *labiʔaya for acc. case, etc.

Descendants

• East Semitic:
  • Akkadian: 𒆷𒁍𒌝 (lābum)
  • Eblaite: 𒊊 (labʾum)
• West Semitic:
  • Central Semitic:
    • Arabic: لَبُؤَة (labuʔa, “lioness”)
    • Northwest Semitic:
      • Amorite: 𒆷𒁀 (la-ba), 𒆷𒁀𒀀 (la-ba-a /⁠*labaʾa⁠/, given name, literally “lioness”)
      • Aramaic:
        • Imperial Aramaic: 𐡋𐡁𐡀 (lbʾ)
      • Canaanite:
        • Hebrew: לָבִיא (laví, lāḇîʾ)
        • → Egyptian: rwꜣbw
          • Late Egyptian: rby
            • Coptic: ⲗⲁⲃⲟ (labo)
        • →? Egyptian: rbw (“Libu”)
      • Ugaritic: 𐎍𐎁𐎜 (lbủ /⁠labiʾu⁠/)
  • Old South Arabian:
    • Sabaean: 𐩡𐩨𐩱 (lbʾ)

References

• Golinets, Viktor (2016) “Amorite Animal Names: Cognates for the Semitic Etymological Dictionary”, in Proceedings of the 6th Biennial Meeting of the International Association for Comparative Semitics and Other Studies (Babel und Bibel; 9)‎^[1], Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, →DOI, →ISBN, page 70
• Hommel, Fritz (1879) Die Namen der Säugethiere bei den südsemitischen Völkern als Beiträge zur arabischen und äthiopischen Lexicographie, zur semitischen Kulturforschung und Sprachvergleichung und zur Geschichte der Mittelmeerfauna. Mit steter Berücksichtigung auch der assyrischen und hebräischen Thiernamen und geographischen und literaturgeschichtlichen Excursen‎^[2] (in German), Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, page 287 seqq.
• Militarev, Alexander, Kogan, Leonid (2005) “*labVˀ-”, in Semitic Etymological Dictionary, volume II: Animal Names, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 194–197, Nr. 144
• A. Murtonen (1989) “LBʾ”, in Hebrew in Its West Semitic Setting, Part I, Section Bb, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 243