Reconstruction analysis
handleboŋinitialbrhymeo(ŋ)⪤po(coverP · NT
Notes
This root is not reconstructed in J. Sun (1993), where it seems to be treated as a suffix following #1425 PTani *dum HEAD / HAIR. The final -r in the Bokar forms is probably a secondary effect of the back unrounded vowel. Darang has a final -m, perhaps an effect of the preceding rounded vowel.
Jingpho provides evidence for both the open- and nasal-final allofams: Hanson (p.42) gives both u-baw and u-bawng ‘a head’, the latter marked ‘Hkauri dialect’ or ‘in religious poetry’ (p.71). Dai et al. 1983 (p.851) glosses u³¹ po³³ as ‘chicken head’ (ù- is a prefix in many words referring to birds).
The second syllables of the Milang, Tagin, Idu, and Galo forms for ‘horn’ resemble this root, but we are keeping them separate for now (see #814 PTB *m/g-(r)wa-ŋ/k/t HORN / ANGLE / CORNER).
Reflexes & cognates62 reflexes · 8 subgroups
1.1.1.1Western Tani16
Galodum#1425 PTani *dum ‘HEAD / HAIR’◦po-aprefix◦pin#591 PTB *pʷ(i/u)(l/n) ‘SKIN’PTani *pɯn ‘SKIN’PKC *wun ‘SKIN (n.) / LEATHER’PTk *hol ‘SKIN / BARK’PNN *s-wun ⪤ *wur ‘SKIN / FLESH’ ‘scalp’Das Gupta 63 Gal
Galodum#1425 PTani *dum ‘HEAD / HAIR’◦po-dum#1425 PTani *dum ‘HEAD / HAIR’-ci#1847 PTB *r-kyi ‘SICK / ACHE’PTani *ki ‘ILL’ ‘headache’Das Gupta 63 Gal
1.1.1.2Eastern Tani5
Milangdum#1425 PTani *dum ‘HEAD / HAIR’◦po aprefix◦ki#1847 PTB *r-kyi ‘SICK / ACHE’PTani *ki ‘ILL’ ‘head-ache’Cf. Mirish dum-po HEAD.Tayeng 76 Mil
1.1.2Deng4
Darang [Taraon]kuru#1221 PTB *k-lu ‘HEAD’PKC *luu ‘HEAD’PKar *kləɁᴰ ‘HEAD’-pom ‘head’Final labial in Darang pom perhaps assimilation to the labial initial and rounded vowel.Matisoff 87 BP
Darang [Taraon]kuru#1221 PTB *k-lu ‘HEAD’PKC *luu ‘HEAD’PKar *kləɁᴰ ‘HEAD’-pom ‘head’Anonymous xx Tar
1.5Mikir [Karbi]4
Mikir [Karbi]aprefix◦phu#385 PTB *d-bu-s ‘HEAD / CENTER / SENIOR MALE RELATIVE / UNCLE’MesorootsPKC *ʔuu ‘ELDER SIBLING’Allofams1 #385 PTB *d-bu-s ‘HEAD / CENTER / SENIOR MALE RELATIVE / UNCLE’1a #1223 PTB *du ‘HEAD’◦bong◦kok#1224 PTB *kuk ‘HEAD / SKULL / WEAR ON THE HEAD’ aprefix◦nung#203 PTB *s-nu(ŋ/k) ‘BACK / BEHIND / AFTER’PKC *nuŋ ⪤ *hnuŋ ‘BACK / BEHIND / LATER’ ‘back of head’Matisoff 87 BP
Mikir [Karbi]phú#385 PTB *d-bu-s ‘HEAD / CENTER / SENIOR MALE RELATIVE / UNCLE’MesorootsPKC *ʔuu ‘ELDER SIBLING’Allofams1 #385 PTB *d-bu-s ‘HEAD / CENTER / SENIOR MALE RELATIVE / UNCLE’1a #1223 PTB *du ‘HEAD’-bòng-kòk#1224 PTB *kuk ‘HEAD / SKULL / WEAR ON THE HEAD’ ‘skull’Grüssner 79 BP: 145
1.7.3.1Jingpho20
Jingpho(u#385 PTB *d-bu-s ‘HEAD / CENTER / SENIOR MALE RELATIVE / UNCLE’MesorootsPKC *ʔuu ‘ELDER SIBLING’Allofams1 #385 PTB *d-bu-s ‘HEAD / CENTER / SENIOR MALE RELATIVE / UNCLE’1a #1223 PTB *du ‘HEAD’-)bawng ‘head’Matisoff 87 BP
Jingphobawng-wammorpheme ‘fontanel’Hanson p.71.Also means “depression between horns of cattle”.Matisoff 87 BP
Jingphobung-wammorpheme ‘fontanel’Hanson p.67.Jingpho -wam ‘pulsate, undulate’. The semantic association is via the often visible pulse in a fontanel.Matisoff 87 BP
Jingphou#385 PTB *d-bu-s ‘HEAD / CENTER / SENIOR MALE RELATIVE / UNCLE’MesorootsPKC *ʔuu ‘ELDER SIBLING’Allofams1 #385 PTB *d-bu-s ‘HEAD / CENTER / SENIOR MALE RELATIVE / UNCLE’1a #1223 PTB *du ‘HEAD’-baw ‘head’Matisoff 87 BP
Jingphoū#385 PTB *d-bu-s ‘HEAD / CENTER / SENIOR MALE RELATIVE / UNCLE’MesorootsPKC *ʔuu ‘ELDER SIBLING’Allofams1 #385 PTB *d-bu-s ‘HEAD / CENTER / SENIOR MALE RELATIVE / UNCLE’1a #1223 PTB *du ‘HEAD’-bō(ŋ) ‘head’Reference doesn’ t check out.Matisoff 74 TJLB: 182
4Nungic5
Nunglɑ³¹#392 PTB *p-laŋ ‘HEAD / FOREHEAD’phuŋ⁵⁵xuɑŋ⁵⁵morphemedɛm⁵⁵morpheme n‘cloth (colorful, worn on the head)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0473.21
Anonglɑ³¹#392 PTB *p-laŋ ‘HEAD / FOREHEAD’phuŋ⁵⁵xuɑŋ⁵⁵morphemedɛm⁵⁵morpheme ‘scarf for the head / turban’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 369.44
Nunglɑ³¹#392 PTB *p-laŋ ‘HEAD / FOREHEAD’phuŋ⁵⁵ɕin³¹morpheme v.‘lead (the way) / guide (lit. 'lead head')’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1251.21
5Tujia2
Tujiaa³⁵prefix bo⁵⁵ bu²¹#1275 PTB *pu ‘BALL / EGG / ROUND OBJECT’Allofams1 #1168 PTB *pʷu ‘EGG / BIRD / ROUND OBJECT’1a #301 PTB *ʔu ‘EGG / BIRD’1b #1654 PTB *pu ‘EGG’1c #1275 PTB *pu ‘BALL / EGG / ROUND OBJECT’ ‘head’Chen 86 TuMQ: 2.1
8Bai6
Bai (Jianchuan)tɯ̱²¹#359 PTB *tuk ⪤ *twak ‘HEAD / SKULL / NECK’ po̱²¹ kua̱⁴⁴#2004 PTB *kwam ‘SKULL’ tɯ̱²¹morpheme ‘skull’Zhao 90: 2.4
Bai (Jianchuan)tɯ̱²¹#359 PTB *tuk ⪤ *twak ‘HEAD / SKULL / NECK’ po̱²¹ no³³morpheme pe̱²¹morpheme ‘scalp’Zhao 90: 2.8
Cite this entry
STEDT etymon #388,
*(p/b)wa(ŋ) ‘HEAD’.Stable link:
https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/388Data: STEDT v1.0 (2017). Accessed: [date].
BibTeX
@misc{stedt-388,
title = {{*(p/b)wa(ŋ) 'HEAD'}},
author = {STEDT},
year = {2017},
note = {Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT) v1.0, etymon #388},
url = {https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/388}
}