Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/laylay-

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

*laylay- m

1. night

   Antonym: *yawm-

Inflection

Declension of *laylay-

case	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*laylayum	*laylayāna	plural stem + *-ūna
accusative	*laylayam	*laylayayna	plural stem + *-īna
genitive	*laylayim
possessive forms
1st person	*laylayī / *laylayVya	—	*laylayVni
2nd person m	*laylayVka	*laylayVkumā / *laylayVkumay	*laylayVkum(ū)
2nd person f	*laylayVki		*laylayVkin(ā)
3rd person m	*laylayVšu	*laylayVšumā / *laylayVšumay	*laylayVšum(ū)
3rd person f	*laylayVša		*laylayVšin(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: *laylayuya for nom. case, *laylayiya for gen. case, *laylayaya for acc. case, etc.

Reconstruction notes

• Kogan reconstructs *layliy- to account for the Ge'ez form, whereas Fox reconstructs the reduplicated form *laylay- and the triradical form *layl- as coexisting in Proto-Semitic. Al-Jallad argues in favor of the reduplicated form underlying all the attested reflexes.
• A feminine by-form (likely a singulative) can be reconstructed at the level of Proto-Semitic, and underlies many of the descendant forms.

Descendants

• East Semitic:
  • Akkadian: 𒇷𒈝 (līlum), 𒆥𒋝 (līliātum) (plurale tantum)
• West Semitic:
  • → Akkadian: 𒇷𒇲 (li-la₂ /⁠līla⁠/), 𒇷𒂖 (li-el /⁠līl⁠/)
  • Central Semitic:
    • Arabic: لَيْلَة (layla), لَيْل (layl) (reanalyzed as a triradical root, but with the original form preserved in the name لَيْلَى (laylā))
      • Egyptian Arabic: ليل (lēl), ليلة (lēla)
      • Maltese: lejl
      • Moroccan Arabic: ليل (līl), ليلة (līla)
    • Northwest Semitic:
      • Aramaic: לֵילְיָא (lēləyā)
        • Classical Syriac: ܠܶܠܝܳܐ (lēlyā), ܠܝܠܐ (laylē)
      • Canaanite:
        • Hebrew: לַיִל (láyil), לַיְלָה (láyla, láylâ) (originally an accusative form)
        • Phoenician: 𐤋𐤋 (ll)
      • Ugaritic: 𐎍𐎍 (ll)
• South Semitic:
  • Old South Arabian:
    • Sabaean: 𐩡𐩡𐩺 (lly), 𐩡𐩺𐩡𐩺 (lyly)
    • Qatabanian: 𐩡𐩺𐩡 (lyl)
  • Ethiopian Semitic:
    • Amharic: ሌት (let), ሌሊት (lelit)
    • Ge'ez: ሌሊት (lelit)
    • Harari: ለይሊ (läyli)
    • Tigre: ላሊ (lali)
    • Tigrinya: ለይቲ (läyti)

References

• Al-Jallad, Ahmad (2020) "“Night” in Proto-Semitic and the emergence of a new nominal declension in Arabic" (not formally published)
• Fox, Joshua (2003) Semitic Noun Patterns, Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
• Kogan, Leonid (2015) Genealogical Classification of Semitic. The Lexical Isoglosses, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN