*s-ni-s
Reconstruction analysis
Intermediate reconstructions
Connections
Notes
For detailed discussion of the numeral SEVEN, see Matisoff 1995 (“Numerals”), pp. 197-203.
Written Tibetan bdun is an isolate, shared only by a few other languages in the Tibetosphere.
The phonological similarity between this numeral and #2504 PTB *g/s-ni-s TWO has led to the deduction that the TB numeral system must once have had a quinary basis (STC pp. 16, 93), but nobody has been able to identify any part of the protoform *s-ni-s as meaning FIVE. (Modern Khmer is an example of a contemporary language with a quinary numeral system.)
Chinese comparandum
七 OC *ts’i̯ĕt, GSR #400a-d ‘seven’; Coblin 86:131 ST *shnjis > PC *shnjit > OC *tshjit; Schuessler 2007:419 *tshit < *snhit; B & S 2011: *tsʰit {[tsʰ]i[t]}; Mand. qī.
Reflexes & cognates392 reflexes · 41 subgroups
0Sino-Tibetan (previously published reconstructions)2
0.1Tibeto-Burman (previously published reconstructions)4
1.1.1Tani1
Jackson Sun also suggests that this PTani reconstruction could have instead contained a *-ɯs rime (1993:361).
1.1.1.1Western Tani26
1.1.1.2Eastern Tani3
1.2Kuki-Chin1
1.2.1.1Northern Chin6
1.2.1.2Southern Plains Chin7
1.2.2Central Chin6
1.2.3Maraic1
1.3“Naga” Areal Group1
1.3.1Central Naga (Ao Group)26
1.3.2Angami-Pochuri Group14
1.3.3Zeme Group8
1.3.4Tangkhulic8
1.4Meithei1
1.7.1.1Bodo2
1.7.1.2Garo3
1.7.1.3Koch2
1.7.2Northern Naga/Konyakian1
1.7.2.1Tangsa-Nocte1
1.7.2.2Konyak-Chang5
1.7.3.1Jingpho10
2.1.1Western Himalayish8
2.1.2Bodic8
2.1.4Tamangish25
3.2Qiangic45
3.3rGyalrongic4
3.3.1rGyalrong11
4Nungic15
5Tujia7
6.1Lolo-Burmese3
6.1.1Burmish29
6.1.2Loloish1
6.1.2.1Northern Loloish28
6.1.2.2Central Loloish24
6.1.2.3Southern Loloish23
6.1.2.4Southeastern Loloish5
6.2Naxi19
7Karenic17
9.0.1Old Chinese1
Cite this entry
*s-ni-s ‘SEVEN’.https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/2505BibTeX
@misc{stedt-2505,
title = {{*s-ni-s 'SEVEN'}},
author = {STEDT},
year = {2017},
note = {Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT) v1.0, etymon #2505},
url = {https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/2505}
}