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STEDT #2663

*s-(l/r)e(y/ŋ)

SQUIRREL / WEASEL
Proto-Tibeto-Burman

Reconstruction analysis

handlesre[ŋ]initialsrrhymee[ŋ]toneŋcoverS · N

Intermediate reconstructions

Kuki-Chin*yu-lay ‘SQUIRREL’PKC #1053
Kuki-Chin*thia-hlay ‘SQUIRREL’PKC #413
Tangkhulic*lej ‘SQUIRREL’DRM#408
Karenic*hliᴮ ‘SQUIRREL’TL#276

Connections

HPTB*s-ley/ŋ ⪤ *s-rey/ŋ ‘squirrel / weasel’pp. 77, 292, 296, 311, 512

Notes

The unusual *-y ⪤ *-ŋ alternation in coda may also be interpreted as an instance of a nasal suffix (*s-ley-N ⪤ *s-rey-N), although such a suffix is usually reconstructed for the dental point of articulation.

The first syllable of the Kuki-Chin binomes is obviously from a general root for rodents, #2796 PTB *b-yəw-n RAT / RABBIT / HARE.

Chinese comparandum

狌 OC *si̯ĕng, GSR #812t; Mand. shēng.
鼪 OC *si̯ĕng, GSR #812u; Mand. shēng.

Reflexes & cognates39 reflexes · 13 subgroups

0.1Tibeto-Burman (previously published reconstructions)3

*Tibeto-Burmans-ley ⪤ s-leŋ ⪤ s-rey ⪤ sreŋ ‘squirrel / weasel’Matisoff 85 GSTC: 151
*Tibeto-Burmans-ley/ŋ ⪤ s-rey/ŋ ‘squirrel / weasel’Matisoff 03 HPTB: 599
*Tibeto-Burmansre[ŋ] ‘weasel / squirrel’Chou 72: 812t

1.2Kuki-Chin2

*Chinthia-hlay ‘SQUIRREL’VanBik 09 PKC: 413
*Chinyu-lay ‘SQUIRREL’VanBik 09 PKC: 1053

1.2.1.2Southern Plains Chin2

Ashoa ʻleˊˊ ‘squirrel’VanBik 09 PKC: 413
Khumikthie ‘squirrel’VanBik 09 PKC: 413

1.3.4Tangkhulic5

Huishuʔamorpheme-kumorpheme-lu ‘squirrel’Mortensen 12 Tk: Animals.079
Kachaikʰəmorpheme-li ‘squirrel’Mortensen 12 Tk: Animals.078
Tusomkʰmorpheme-la ‘squirrel’Mortensen 12 Tk: Animals.079
Ukhrulkʰəmorpheme-lej ‘squirrel’Mortensen 12 Tk

1.5Mikir [Karbi]2

Mikir [Karbi]iŋprefix◦ren ‘mongoose’Matisoff 85 GSTC: 151
Mikir [Karbi]iŋprefix◦ren ‘mongoose’Benedict 72 STC: 79n241

2.1.2.1Tibetan7

Tibetan (Alike)ʂe moŋmorpheme n‘weasel (yellow)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0322.05
Tibetan (Lhasa)tʂe⁵⁵moŋ⁵⁵morpheme n‘weasel (yellow)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0322.02
Tibetan (Written)sre momorpheme n‘weasel (yellow)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0322.01
Tibetan (Written)sre-mo(ŋ)morpheme ‘weasel’Matisoff 85 GSTC: 151
Tibetan (Written)sre-mo(ŋ)morpheme ‘weasel’Benedict 72 STC: 79n241
Tibetan (Written)sre-móŋmorpheme ‘weasel’Jäschke 1881
Tibetan (Xiahe)ʂe moŋmorpheme n‘weasel (yellow)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0322.04

7Karenic9

*Karenhliᴮ ‘squirrel’[Source note] N.Sgaw has tone D while the other Karenic languages have tone B.Luangthongkum 13: 276
Bweli¹¹ ‘squirrel’Luangthongkum 13: 276
Pwo (Southern)lei⁵⁵ ‘squirrel’Luangthongkum 13: 276
Sgaw (Northern)liɁ⁴⁵lu¹¹¨ ‘squirrel’Luangthongkum 13: 276
Sgaw (Southern)li⁴⁵’ ‘squirrel’Luangthongkum 13: 276

9.0.1Old Chinese4

Chinese (Old/Mid)si̯ĕŋ/si̯ɑ̈ŋ ‘weasel’Karlgren 57 GSR: 812t
Chinese (Old/Mid)si̯ĕŋ/si̯ɑ̈ŋ ‘weasel’Karlgren 57 GSR: 812u
Chinese (Old/Mid)sri̯ěŋ/si̯ɑ̈ŋ ‘weasel’Chou 72: 812t

9.0.2Middle Chinese1

Cite this entry

STEDT etymon #2663, *s-(l/r)e(y/ŋ) ‘SQUIRREL / WEASEL’.
Stable link: https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/2663
Data: STEDT v1.0 (2017). Accessed: [date].
References: cf. STC p.79, HPTB pp. 77, 292, 296, 311, 512
BibTeX
@misc{stedt-2663,
  title  = {{*s-(l/r)e(y/ŋ) 'SQUIRREL / WEASEL'}},
  author = {STEDT},
  year   = {2017},
  note   = {Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT) v1.0, etymon #2663},
  url    = {https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/2663}
}