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STEDT #12

*rwa(ŋ/k)

BODY / CORPSE
Proto-Tibeto-Burman

Reconstruction analysis

handlerwaNinitialrwrhymea(ŋ/k)coverL · NT

Intermediate reconstructions

Tani*rom ‘GHOST (ANCESTRAL)’JS-HCST: 176
Kuki-Chin*ruak ⪤ *ruaŋ ‘CORPSE / DEAD BODY’PKC #927

Connections

HPTB*raw ‘withered / residue / corpse’p. 225

Notes

A number of languages in Eastern Nepal have developed final labials in this root, also showing alternation between final stop and nasal: *rwam ⪤ *rwap. We regard these forms as secondary, due most likely to assimilation of the final to the labial glide.

It is possible that Karbi rèng- ‘die / be dead’ and Dumi rəŋ gəliːm ‘soul / the disincarnate spirit of a dead person’ are also somehow related, perhaps reflecting an allofam like *ryaŋ.

Also to be compared to this root is #1801 PTB *s-lwaŋ BODY / CORPSE / DISCARDED OBJECT with lateral initial.

Reflexes & cognates57 reflexes · 16 subgroups

1.1.1Tani1

*Tanirom ‘ghost (ancestral)’Sun J 93 HCST: 173

1.1.1.1Western Tani10

Bengniaprefix-ram ‘ghost (ancestral)’Sun J 93 HCST
Bengniaprefix-ram ‘spirit (of the dead)’Sun J 93 Tani
Bokaroprefix rom n‘soul / spirit (lit. 'ghost spirit')’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0673.24
Bokaroprefix-rom ‘ghost (ancestral)’Sun J 93 HCST
Bokaroprefix-rom aprefix-keːmorpheme ‘offering’Sun J 93 Tani
Galo`oprefix◦rom n.‘ghost’GLDC 09 Galo
Galouprefix◦rom ‘ghost’Das Gupta 63 Gal
Galouprefix◦yom ‘ghost’Das Gupta 63 Gal
Miri, Hilloprefix◦rom ‘shades of the dead, spirits’Simon 76 Miri

1.1.1.2Eastern Tani1

Padam-Mishing [Abor-Miri]uprefix-rom ‘ghost (ancestral)’Sun J 93 HCST

1.2Kuki-Chin2

*Chinruak ⪤ ruaŋ ‘CORPSE / DEAD BODY’VanBik 09 PKC: 927
Thanphumăprefix◦ro⁵ ‘corpse, dead body’Luce 85: P.26

1.2.1.2Southern Plains Chin3

Asho (Sandoway)ăˋprefixyɔᴜʔ² ‘corpse, dead body’Luce 85: P.26
Cho (Mindat)gawk ‘corpse, human dead body’VanBik 09 PKC: 927
Womaturoʔ³ ‘corpse, dead body’Luce 85: P.26

1.2.2Central Chin9

Khualsimruak¹ [ruaŋ² =body] ‘corpse, dead body’Luce 85: P.26
Lai (Hakha)ruak ‘corpse, dead body’VanBik 09 PKC: 927
Lai (Falam)rûak ‘corpse, dead body’VanBik 09 PKC: 927
Lai (Hakha)ruak¹ ‘corpse, dead body’Luce 85: P.26
Lushai [Mizo]ruang ‘carcass / corpse’Matisoff 87 BP
Lushai [Mizo]rǔang n‘corpse, a carcass, a dead body’VanBik 09 PKC: 927
Lushai [Mizo]ruɑŋ³ ‘corpse, dead body’Luce 85: P.26

1.2.3Maraic5

Lakher [Mara]rí ‘corpse, dead body’VanBik 09 PKC: 927
Lothvo (Hiranpi)rə³ ‘corpse, dead body’Luce 85: P.26
Meraa¹prefixʀiʔ¹ ‘corpse, dead body’Luce 85: P.26
Tha'oarɔk⁴ ‘corpse, dead body’Luce 85: P.26
Zotungăprefix◦rua⁴ ‘corpse, dead body’Luce 85: P.26

1.5Mikir [Karbi]3

Mikir [Karbi]arprefix◦rak ‘carcass / corpse’Matisoff 87 BP
Mikir [Karbi]arprefix◦wák ‘carcass / dead animal’ar- is a common Karbi prefix; maybe this is a haplologized form < *ar-rwak.Grüssner 79 BP: 12
Mikir [Karbi]rèng- ‘die / be dead’Grüssner 79 BP: 99

1.7.1Bodo-Garo

Bodo shows frequent variation between intervocalic -d- and -r-, as witness the alternate name Boro for the language.

1.7.1.1Bodo2

Bodoməprefix◦dəm ‘body; health’Bhat 68 Boro
Bodoməprefix◦dəm ‘body’Matisoff 87 BP

2.3Kiranti1

2.3.1Eastern Kiranti2

LimbuPprefix-jam ‘body’Michailovsky 89 Lm

2.3.3Central Kiranti6

Dumiram ‘fleshly body, limbs’Driem 93 Dumi
Dumirimorpheme◦ram ‘body’Driem 93 Dumi
Dumirəŋ◦gəliːmmorpheme ‘<soul> the disincarnate spirit of a man / woman who has died an’Driem 93 Dumi
Khalingrwām ‘body’Matisoff 87 BP

2.3.4Western Kiranti6

Sunwarrā̩ː ‘body’Matisoff 87 BP
Thulungreom ‘body (human / animal)’Allen 75
Thulungreop ‘body (human / animal)’Allen 75

3.3.1rGyalrong2

rGyalrongkəprefix rȵɛmorpheme wam ‘carcass / dead animal’Dai 89 Jiar: 1.15
rGyalrongtaprefix wam ‘corpse / dead body’Dai 89 Jiar: 1.14

Cite this entry

STEDT etymon #12, *rwa(ŋ/k) ‘BODY / CORPSE’.
Stable link: https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/12
Data: STEDT v1.0 (2017). Accessed: [date].
BibTeX
@misc{stedt-12,
  title  = {{*rwa(ŋ/k) 'BODY / CORPSE'}},
  author = {STEDT},
  year   = {2017},
  note   = {Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT) v1.0, etymon #12},
  url    = {https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/12}
}