Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/muhr-

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

*muhrum waḥimārum

Etymology

Perhaps related to *ḥimār-, with metathesis and variation between *ḥ and *h.

Noun

*muhr- m

1. foal, colt (child of a donkey or horse)

Inflection

Declension of *muhr-

case	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*muhrum	*muhrāna	plural stem + *-ūna
accusative	*muhram	*muhrayna	plural stem + *-īna
genitive	*muhrim
possessive forms
1st person	*muhrī / *muhrVya	—	*muhrVni
2nd person m	*muhrVka	*muhrVkumā / *muhrVkumay	*muhrVkum(ū)
2nd person f	*muhrVki		*muhrVkin(ā)
3rd person m	*muhrVšu	*muhrVšumā / *muhrVšumay	*muhrVšum(ū)
3rd person f	*muhrVša		*muhrVšin(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: *muhruya for nom. case, *muhriya for gen. case, *muhraya for acc. case, etc.

Descendants

• East Semitic:
  • Akkadian: 𒀲𒍑 (mūrum)
• West Semitic:
  • Central Semitic:
    • Arabic: مُهْر (muhr)
    • Northwest Semitic:
      • Amorite: 𒈬𒊒 (mu-ru /⁠mūru⁠/)
      • Aramaic:
        • Classical Syriac: ܡܽܘܗܪܳܐ (muhrā)
        • Turoyo: ܡܘܗܪܳܐ (muhro)
    • Old South Arabian:
      • Qatabanian: 𐩣𐩠𐩧𐩩 f (mhrt, “filly”)
      • Sabaean: 𐩣𐩠𐩧𐩩 f (mhrt, “filly”)
  • Ethiopian Semitic:
    • Ge'ez: መሀር (mähär /⁠məhr⁠/)
    • Tigre: ምህር (məhər)
    • Tigrinya: ምሂር (məhir)

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 73
• 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 52
• Kogan, Leonid, Bulakh, Maria (2011 March 8) “Arabic influences on Tigre: A preliminary evaluation”, in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, volume 74, number 1, →DOI, page 5
• Militarev, Alexander, Kogan, Leonid (2005) Semitic Etymological Dictionary, volume II: Animal Names, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, →ISBN, page 202 No. 149