Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/mej
Proto-Sino-Tibetan
[edit]Etymology
[edit]- Proto-Sino-Tibetan: *myəy ~ sməy/smyəy (Coblin, 1986)
- Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *mey (Matisoff, STEDT; Weidert, 1987; LaPolla, 1987; Benedict, 1972)
Comparing Chinese 火 (huǒ) with Proto-Tibeto-Burman *mey is problematic. Sagart (1999) reconstructed the Chinese word as /*m̥ˤɨjʔ/, citing its variant 𤈦 (huǐ) (an ancient Wu dialect word) as the basis for reconstructing a voiceless bilabial initial. This was however revised to a uvular initial in the Baxter-Sagart (2011) system, perhaps in accordance with Zhengzhang (2003). Li (1980) reconstructed it as *hwərX, and commented that it likely came from an earlier *hmərX. The word "fire" is classified by some to belong to the same family as some words meaning "to destroy", represented by 毁 (huǐ). Compare Written Tibetan སྨྱེ་བ (smye ba, “(archaic) damaged, impaired, poor quality”).
Compare Proto-Tai *ʰmajᶜ (“to burn (intr.)”) (Thai ไหม้ (mâi), Lao ໄໝ້ (mai)).
Noun
[edit]*mej
Descendants
[edit]- Old Chinese:
- 火 (huǒ) /*qʷʰˤəjʔ/ (B-S); /*qʰʷaːlʔ/ (ZS) ("fire") (see note)
- and perhaps dialectally
- (火 in the oracle bone script)
- Middle Chinese: 火 (huɑX)
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**:
→ Japanese: 火 (か, ka)
Korean: 화 (火, hwa)
Vietnamese: hoả (火)
- Himalayish
- Tangut-Qiang
- Lolo-Burmese-Naxi
- Proto-Karen: *hmeᴮ (Luangthongkum, 2013)
- Proto-Tani: *a-mə
- Tangam: ame
- Proto-Kuki-Chin: *maj
- Manipuri: ꯃꯩ (mei)
See also
[edit]- *bʷar ~ pʷar (“to burn, to ignite; fire”)
- *hwa-t (“to shine; light”)
- *m-t(w)əj-n ~ m-ti-s (“water, liquid, fluid”)