STEDT
The Body  ›  Reproductive System  ›  Vagina
STEDT #1616

*li-n

VAGINA
Proto-Tibeto-Burman

Reconstruction analysis

handler/liinitial(r/l)rhymei-nsuffixncoverL · VN

Intermediate reconstructions

Karenic*linᴮ ‘VAGINA’TL#315

Notes

This root is confined mostly to Karenic, with possible cognates in the NE Indian Areal Group and Himalayish. The Lotha form with nasal prefix makes this root look very much like #1284 PTB *m-ley ⪤ *m-li PENIS, suggesting that this might be yet another example of “genital flipflop” (see Benedict 1979, LTBA 5.1). For the moment, the final nasal in some Karenic forms is regarded as suffixal.

Reflexes & cognates31 reflexes · 5 subgroups

1.3.1Central Naga (Ao Group)1

2.3.2Southern Kiranti1

2.4Kham-Magar-Chepang1

7Karenic33

*Karen (Pwo)lén' ‘vagina’Jones 61: 17
*Karenlinᴮ ‘vagina’Luangthongkum 13: 315
*Karen (TP)ljén' ‘vagina’Jones 61: 17
*Karenljén' cf. PEN‘vagina’Jones 61: 17
Gebaɑ²prefixli² ‘vagina’Luce 85: I.192
Kayahli¹¹ ‘vagina’Luangthongkum 13: 315
Kayawli¹¹ ‘vagina’Luangthongkum 13: 315
Pa-O (Southern)lim⁵⁵~lin⁵⁵ ‘vagina’Luangthongkum 13: 315
Pa-Olîn ‘vagina’Matisoff 87 BP
Pa-Olîn ‘vagina’Jones 61: 17
Pakuli³ ‘vagina’Luce 85: I.192
Pwo (Delta)lẽ¹ ‘vagina’Luce 85: I.192
Pwo (Tenasserim)lẽ⁴ ‘vagina’Luce 85: I.192
Pwo (Bassein)lénʔ ‘vagina’Matisoff 87 BP
Pwo (Bassein)lénʔ ‘vagina’Jones 61: 17
Sgawli⁶ ‘vagina’Luce 85: I.192

Cite this entry

STEDT etymon #1616, *li-n ‘VAGINA’.
Stable link: https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/1616
Data: STEDT v1.0 (2017). Accessed: [date].
References: related to PENIS roots?
BibTeX
@misc{stedt-1616,
  title  = {{*li-n 'VAGINA'}},
  author = {STEDT},
  year   = {2017},
  note   = {Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT) v1.0, etymon #1616},
  url    = {https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/1616}
}