Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/(t)sam

This Proto-Sino-Tibetan 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-Sino-Tibetan

Etymology

• Proto-Sino-Tibetan: *sram (Coblin, 1986); *tsɑ̂m ~ sɑ̂m (Chou, 1972)
  • Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *tsam ⪤ sam (Matisoff, STEDT; Michailovsky, 1991); *tsɑm (Chou, 1972); *tsam (Benedict, 1972); *tsâm / tsam / sâm (Weidert, 1987); *tsam (*A) (Coblin, 1986)

Noun

*(t)sam

1. hair (of the head)

Descendants

• Old Chinese: 彡, 髟 /*sˁram/ (Baxter-Sagart); /*sroːm, *slom/ (Zhengzhang Shangfang)
  • Middle Chinese: 彡, 髟 /ʃɣam, siᴇm/
    • Modern Mandarin
      • Beijing: 彡, 髟 ("long hair") (shān, /ʂan⁵⁵/)
• Kamarupan
  • Kuki-Chin

    /*sham/ ("hair (head)") (VanBik, 2009)

    • Central Chin
      • Lushai [Mizo]: sam (“hair (of the head)”)
• Tangut-Qiang
  • Northern Tangut
    • Tangut: 𗴸 (*tswa¹, “hair worn in a bun or coil”)
• Himalayish
  • Tibeto-Kanauri
    • Bodic
      • Tibetan
        • Written Tibetan: སམ་དལ (sam dal, “hair (of head)”), འག་ཚོམ ('ag tshom, “chin beard”), ཡར་སམ (yar sam, “hair (of head), moustache”)
• Lolo-Burmese-Naxi
  • Lolo-Burmese
    • Burmish
      • Written Burmese: ဆံ (hcam, “hair (of head)”)

See also

• *s/r-m(u/i/ja)l (“hair, fur, feather”)
• *s-kra (“hair of head, head”)