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STEDT #1284

*m-ley ⪤ *m-li

PENIS
Proto-Tibeto-Burman · exemplary

Reconstruction analysis

handleleyprefixminitiallrhymeeycoverL · W

Intermediate reconstructions

Loloish*(n)-li² ‘PENIS’

Connections

Allofams
HPTB*m-ley ⪤ *m-li ‘penis’pp. 47, 49, 153, 219, 509

Notes

There is apparently a slight variation in the rhyme of this etymon between *-ey and *-i, although the reflexes of these two rhymes are not distinguishable for many TB languages at present. STC (#262 and note 197) recognizes “vowel gradation” in this root, assigning Kanauri kut-li, Bahing bli, WB lî, Garo ri-gaŋ, and Dimasa li to PTB *li, but WT mdźe to *m-ley. For convenience, we are grouping all the reflexes of this etymon with lateral initials together in #1284 PTB *m-ley ⪤ *m-li PENIS, regardless of the precise proto-rhyme to which they may eventually be assigned.

See also HPTB *m-ley ⪤ *m-li, pp. 47, 49, 153, 219, 509.

Reflexes & cognates127 reflexes · 22 subgroups

0.1Tibeto-Burman (previously published reconstructions)7

*Tibeto-Burmanm-ley ⪤ li ‘penis’Matisoff 85 GSTC: 049
*Tibeto-Burmanm-ley ⪤ m-li ‘penis’Matisoff 03 HPTB: 599
*Tibeto-Burmanm-ləy ⪤ m-ley ‘earth’Matisoff 85 GSTC: 152

2.1.1Western Himalayish4

Kanaurikutmorpheme-li ‘penis’Matisoff 85 GSTC: 049
Kanaurikutmorpheme-li ‘penis’Benedict 72 STC: 262
Kanaurikutmorpheme◦lī ‘penis (less polite)’Matisoff 87 BP
Kanauriles ‘penis’The suffixal -s in Kanauri les is unexplained.Sharma, D.D. 88 Kn: 27

2.1.2Bodic2

Baimakhɑ¹³morpheme ndʐɿ⁵³ ‘penis’Sun H 91 Baim: 10.3.1

2.1.3Lepcha1

Lepchasăli krikmorpheme ‘penis’This form reflects an alternate prototype with sibilant prefix, *s-ley (cf. Bisu hlè ‘penis’, where the voiceless lateral also points to *s- instead of *m-).Matisoff 87 BP

2.3Kiranti1

2.3.1Eastern Kiranti23

Belhareli ‘penis’Bickel 95
Limbule ‘top of penis’Matisoff 87 BP
Limbule◦bongmorpheme ‘testicle’Matisoff 87 BP
LimbulE◦dwamorpheme ‘glans penis’Michailovsky 89 Lm
Limbule◦hekmorpheme ‘top of penis’Matisoff 87 BP
LimbulE◦khaŋmorpheme ‘glans penis’Michailovsky 89 Lm
LimbulE◦ntmorpheme- ‘glans penis’Michailovsky 89 Lm
LimbulE◦suŋmorpheme ‘male genitals’Michailovsky 89 Lm
Limbule◦thim#1181 PTB *d(i/u)l ‘EGG / TESTICLE’MesorootsPKC *til ‘TESTICLE / SCROTUM’Allofams2a #300 PTB *d(w)əy ‘EGG / TESTICLE’2b #1181 PTB *d(i/u)l ‘EGG / TESTICLE’◦basuffix ‘testicle’Note assimilation of the medial consonants in Limbu thim ba.Michailovsky 89 Lm
Limbulɛ◦dhiːm#1181 PTB *d(i/u)l ‘EGG / TESTICLE’MesorootsPKC *til ‘TESTICLE / SCROTUM’Allofams2a #300 PTB *d(w)əy ‘EGG / TESTICLE’2b #1181 PTB *d(i/u)l ‘EGG / TESTICLE’◦basuffix ‘testicle ("penis-egg")’Weidert 87 TBTo: 142
Limbulɛ◦dhiːm#1181 PTB *d(i/u)l ‘EGG / TESTICLE’MesorootsPKC *til ‘TESTICLE / SCROTUM’Allofams2a #300 PTB *d(w)əy ‘EGG / TESTICLE’2b #1181 PTB *d(i/u)l ‘EGG / TESTICLE’◦basuffix ‘testicle ("penis-egg")’Weidert 87 TBTo: 617b
Yakhaliː ‘penis’Kohn 90: 10.3.1
Yakhaliː◦geŋmorpheme ‘testicle’Kohn 90: 10.3.5
Yakhaliː◦goːmorpheme umorpheme◦tu#1223 PTB *du ‘HEAD’Allofams1 #385 PTB *d-bu-s ‘HEAD / CENTER / SENIOR MALE RELATIVE / UNCLE’1a #1223 PTB *du ‘HEAD’◦kərukmorpheme ‘glans penis’Kohn 90: 10.3.2
Yakhaliː◦gəuːmorpheme◦wəmorpheme◦hamorpheme◦rik#782 PTB *rik-s ‘SKIN’ ‘foreskin’Kohn 90: 10.3.3

2.3.4Western Kiranti8

Hayubi#662 PTB *b(y)at ‘VAGINA’◦mli ‘genitals’This is an antonymic compound meaning literally “vagina-penis”.This is an antonymic compound meaning literally “vagina-penis”.Michailovsky 91 Kr: 138
Thulungble ‘penis’Allen 75
Thulungle- ‘copulate’Allen 75

6.1Lolo-Burmese1

6.1.2Loloish2

*Loloish(n)-li² ‘penis’Weidert 87 TBTo: 294
*Loloish(n)-li² ‘penis’Bradley 79 PLo: 122

6.1.2.3Southern Loloish6

Akhabeuˆmorpheme leuˆ ‘penis (polite)’The stopped tone in the second syllable is unexplained. Note, however, the final -q in some Qiang forms, such as Qiang (Mawo) liq ‘penis’.Lewis 89 AETD
Bisuhlè ‘penis’The voiceless lateral in Bisu hlè reflects an *s- prefix (cf. Lepcha săli).Bradley 79 PLo
Mpitɕhɑ²morphemelɑʔ⁴ ‘penis’According to Bradley (1979:304-5), this form coexists with Mpi ne²; see #545 PTB *m-ney PENIS.Bradley 79 PLo

Cite this entry

STEDT etymon #1284, *m-ley ⪤ *m-li ‘PENIS’.
Stable link: https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/1284
Data: STEDT v1.0 (2017). Accessed: [date].
References: STC#262
BibTeX
@misc{stedt-1284,
  title  = {{*m-ley ⪤ *m-li 'PENIS'}},
  author = {STEDT},
  year   = {2017},
  note   = {Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT) v1.0, etymon #1284},
  url    = {https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/1284}
}