Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/māy-

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

Alternative forms

• *may-

Etymology

From Proto-Afroasiatic *maʔ-.

Noun

*māy- m pl

1. water

Inflection

Declension of *māy-

case	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*māyum	*māyāna	plural stem + *-ūna
accusative	*māyam	*māyayna	plural stem + *-īna
genitive	*māyim
possessive forms
1st person	*māyī / *māyVya	—	*māyVni
2nd person m	*māyVka	*māyVkumā / *māyVkumay	*māyVkum(ū)
2nd person f	*māyVki		*māyVkin(ā)
3rd person m	*māyVšu	*māyVšumā / *māyVšumay	*māyVšum(ū)
3rd person f	*māyVša		*māyVšin(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: *māyuya for nom. case, *māyiya for gen. case, *māyaya for acc. case, etc.

Reconstruction notes

Kogan gives the reconstructed form as *mā̆y-, with vowel length uncertain. No inflection is shown here; the Akkadian and some West Semitic forms are plural only, as are the Proto-Berber and Egyptian forms, suggesting that the same may have been the case for Proto-Semitic.

Descendants

• East Semitic:
  • Akkadian: 𒀀 (mû)
• West Semitic:
  • Central Semitic:
    • Arabic: مَاء (māʔ), مَاه (māh), مَي (may) — poetic or dialectal
      • Algerian Arabic: ما (mā)
      • Andalusian Arabic: ما (mā)
      • Baharna Arabic: مي (me)
      • Chadian Arabic: المي (almi)
      • Egyptian Arabic: مية (máyya)
      • Gulf Arabic: ماي (māy)
      • Hassaniya Arabic: ما (ma)
      • Hijazi Arabic: موية (mōya)
      • Iraqi Arabic: ماي (māy)
      • Juba Arabic: moya
      • Nubi: moyo
      • Libyan Arabic: مي (me)
      • Maltese: ilma
      • Moroccan Arabic: ما (mā)
      • North Levantine Arabic: مَي (may)
      • South Levantine Arabic: مي (ṃayy)
      • Sudanese Arabic: موية (mōya)
    • Northwest Semitic:
      • Aramaic: מַיָּא (mayyā)
        • Classical Syriac: ܡܰܝܴ̈ܐ (mayyā)
        • Mandaic: ࡌࡉࡀ (miā/myā)
        • Lishana Deni: מאיא (ṃāya), מאייה (ṃāye), [script needed] (miya) (Christian Bishmiyaye dialect)
      • Canaanite:
        • Hebrew: מַיִם (máyim)
          • → Yiddish: מים (mayim)
            • → Dutch: majem
        • Phoenician: 𐤌𐤌 (mm /⁠mēm⁠/)
      • Ugaritic: 𐎎𐎊 (my)
    • Old South Arabian:
      • Sabaean: 𐩣𐩥 (mw)
    • Safaitic: 𐪃𐪚 m (my /⁠māy⁠/), 𐪃𐪚𐪉 f (myt /⁠mayyat⁠/), 𐪃𐪅𐪑 (mwʾ /⁠mowayʾ⁠/), 𐪃𐪑 (mʾ /⁠māʾ⁠/)
  • Modern South Arabian:
    • Harsusi: myōh
    • Hobyót: ḥmo
    • Mehri: moh
    • Shehri: míh
    • Bathari: muh
  • Ethiopian Semitic:
    • Dahalik: ማይ (may)
    • Ge'ez: ማይ (may)
    • Harari: ሚይ (miy)
    • Silt'e: መይ
    • Tigre: ማይ (may)
    • Tigrinya: ማይ (may)
    • Wolane: መይ
    • Zay: ማይ

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 191
• Alexander Militarev, A complete etymology-based hundred wordlist of Semitic updated: Items 75-100, in the Journal of Language Relationhip[s]