Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/w(a/u)

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: *sgwljaɣ (Coblin, 1986)
  • Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *w(a/u) (Matisoff, STEDT); *wa / *(b)wa (Weidert, 1987); *wa (Benedict, 1972)

Noun

*w(a/u)

1. bird, fowl
2. wing
3. feather, plume
4. egg

Descendants

• Old Chinese: 羽 ("feather, wing, bird") /*ɢʷaʔ, ɢʷas/
  • Middle Chinese: 羽 (ɦɨoX, ɦɨoH)
    • Modern Mandarin
      • Beijing: 羽 ("feather") (yǔ, /y²¹⁴/)
• Himalayish
  • Tibeto-Kanauri
    • Bodic
      • Tibetan
        • Written Tibetan: རྭ་མཆུ (rwa mchu, “beak, bill”)

Related terms

• *ʔu (“egg, bird”)

See also

• *s/r-m(u/i/ja)l (“hair, fur, feather”)
• *b(j/r)a (“bird, bee”)
• *s-ŋak (“bird”)
• *lak ~ C-jak (“hand, arm, limb, wing”)
• *d(w)əj (“egg, testicle”)