Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/miʕay-

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

*mi- (“device preformative”) +‎ *waʕay- (“to contain”) as in Arabic وِعَاء (wiʕāʔ, “container”), after Rundgren, who dares speak of “uralte dissimilation” from *miwʕay-. Compare also some forms mentioned under Arabic إِنَاء (ʔināʔ, “receptacle”) formed in Proto-Semitic.

According to Jastrow there is *ʕayn- (“eye; source”), since Mishnaic Hebrew מַעְיָן (maʿyān) means both “inside, digestive organ” and “spring, fountain, source, issue”, which, while the Biblical dual or plural also often means “inward parts”, even “emotions”, is for the whole word dubious since like with English inwards, or even English guts, the reverse figurative development is totally likely, but it may be a source of contamination for that variant unless it is not just the *-ān- suffix, which is also most likely.

Noun

*miʕay- f or m

1. intestine, tharm

Declension

Declension of *miʕay-

case	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*miʕayum	*miʕayāna	plural stem + *-ūna
accusative	*miʕayam	*miʕayayna	plural stem + *-īna
genitive	*miʕayim
possessive forms
1st person	*miʕayī / *miʕayVya	—	*miʕayVni
2nd person m	*miʕayVka	*miʕayVkumā / *miʕayVkumay	*miʕayVkum(ū)
2nd person f	*miʕayVki		*miʕayVkin(ā)
3rd person m	*miʕayVšu	*miʕayVšumā / *miʕayVšumay	*miʕayVšum(ū)
3rd person f	*miʕayVša		*miʕayVšin(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: *miʕayuya for nom. case, *miʕayiya for gen. case, *miʕayaya for acc. case, etc.

Descendants

• East Semitic:
  • Akkadian: 𒌍 (amūtum), once 𒈬𒌑𒌈 (mu-ú-tum /⁠mūtum⁠/) (assuming labial assimilation of the first vowel here, alternatively this is the outcome of the sequence iw)
• West Semitic:
  • Arabic: مِعًى (miʕan), مَعًى (maʕan), مَعْي (maʕy), مِعَاء (miʕāʔ)
  • Northwest Semitic:
    • Aramaic: מְעָא (məʿā) / ܡܰܥܝܳܐ (maʿyā) etc., with a Classical Syriac ܡܥܽܘܬܳܐ (məʿūṯā) which according to CAL would have an absolute state *ܡܥܽܘ (*məʿō) and according to Rundgren is assimilated from *ܡܰܥܘܬܳܐ (*maʿwəṯā), and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and Jewish Literary Aramaic: מַעְיָנָא (maʿyānā)
    • Hebrew: מֵעֶה (mēʿê), מַעְיָן (maʿyān), singulars only attested in Mishnaic Hebrew, plural or dual מֵעִים (mēʿîm), מֵעַיִם (mēʿáyim) from which Modern Israeli Hebrew has artificially the singular מְעִי (məʿî), possibly the plural is מֵעוֹת (mēʿôṯ) in Isaiah 48:19
  • Ethiopian Semitic:
    • North Ethiopian Semitic:
      • ⇒ Ge'ez: አማዑት (ʾämaʿut), አምዑት (ʾämʿut) (originally አምዑት (ʾämʿut) is a broken plural *አምዕውት (ʾämʿəwt), of which one formed another broken plural *አማዕውት (ʾämaʿəwt) after which the most common form is አማዑት (ʾämaʿut), the plural plural plural thence being አማዕዋት (ʾämaʿəwat))
      • ⇒ Tigrinya: አምዑት (ʾämʿut)
      • Tigre: ምዖ (məʿo), ምዖታይ (məʿotay), ምዖተት (məʿotät) (technically *ምዐው (*məʿäw) can be an old broken plural, a known plural pattern in Təgre)
        • ⇒ Tigre: አምዒት (ʾämʿit), አምዑት (ʾämʿut), ዐምዒት (ʿämʿit) (originally a broken plural *አምዕይት (ʾämʿəyt))
  • Modern South Arabian:
    • Harsusi: mʕeyīn
    • Mehri: məʔwəyēn, məʔəwəyēn
    • Soqotri: miʕḥo, míḥo

References

• Jastrow, Marcus (1903) A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature, London, New York: Luzac & Co., G.P. Putnam's Sons, page 816a
• Militarev, Alexander, Kogan, Leonid (2000) “*maˁay/w(-at)- in the book, *mVˁay- online”, in Semitic Etymological Dictionary, volumes I: Anatomy of Man and Animals, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 168-169 Nr. 185
• Nöldeke, Theodor (1875) Mandäische Grammatik‎^[1] (in German), Halle: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses, page 109
• Rundgren, Frithiof (1961) “Semitische Wortstudien”, in Orientalia Suecana‎^[2], volume 10, pages 121–127