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STEDT #5407

*m-bup

ROT / SPOTTED / WRITE
Proto-Tibeto-Burman

Intermediate reconstructions

Loloish*m-bupᴸ ‘WRITE / ROT’

Notes

The semantic range of this root is interesting: the basic meaning seems to have been ‘rot’; have spots of rot or mold’, whence ‘be spotted, mottled’, thence to the notion of ‘write’ (perceived by preliterate people as making spots on paper). Matisoff 1972 (LTSR) treats ROT / SPOIL (#75) as a separate etymon from WRITE / MAKE SPOTS (#89).

This root resembles #197 PTB *bruk PIEBALD / SPECKLED, but is best kept distinct.

Reflexes & cognates96 reflexes · 13 subgroups

0.1Tibeto-Burman (previously published reconstructions)2

*Tibeto-Burmanbup ‘rot / rotten’LaPolla 87: 72
*Tibeto-Burmanm-bup ‘rot / spotted / write’Matisoff 03 HPTB: 585

1.7.3.2Asakian1

2.3.2Southern Kiranti1

Bantawapop v‘spoil’Rai 85 BnDs

3.2Qiangic11

Muyanɐ³³morphemembə⁵³ v.‘rot’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1330.15
Muyanɐ³³morphemembə⁵³tɕɐ³³morpheme v.‘damage / spoil’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1655.15
Muya [Minyak]mbɯ⁵⁵ ‘rot / spoil’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 792.15
Pumi (Jiulong)nə¹¹morphemebɯi⁵⁵ v.‘rot’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1330.10
Pumi (Lanping)nə¹³morpheme bie⁵⁵ v.‘rot’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1330.09
Queyu (Yajiang) [Zhaba]kə³⁵morphemepɐ⁵³ ‘rot / spoil’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 792.16
Zhaba (Daofu County)kʌ³³morphemepia⁵⁵ v.‘rot’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1330.14

4Nungic6

Rawangbɯp [bɯp mɛ³³]morpheme ‘rot (meat)’LaPolla 03: 1295
Anongŋ³¹bɔm⁵⁵ ‘rot / spoil’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 792.44
Trung [Dulong]bɯ̆p⁵⁵ ‘rot / spoil’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 792.46
Trung [Dulong] (Dulonghe)bɯp⁵⁵ ‘rot / rotten’LaPolla 87: 72
Trung [Dulong] (Nujiang)bɯ̆p⁵⁵ ‘rot / spoil’Sun H 82 Dul
Trung [Dulong] (Nujiang)bɯp⁵⁵ ‘rot / rotten’LaPolla 87: 72

6.1Lolo-Burmese2

*Lolo-BurmeseNbup ‘rot / spoil’Matisoff 72 LTSR: 75
*Lolo-BurmeseNbup ‘rot / rotten’[Source note] [TSR 75] (LaPolla 1987).LaPolla 87: 72

6.1.1Burmish19

Achang (Longchuan)pup⁵⁵ ‘rot / rotten’LaPolla 87: 72
Achang (Longchuan)pup⁵⁵ ‘rot / spoil’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 792.41
Achang (Luxi)pɔp³¹ ‘rot / spoil’Dai 85 AcJZ
Achang (Luxi)pɔp³¹ ‘rot / rotten’LaPolla 87: 72
Burmese (Written)pup ‘rot / rotten’LaPolla 87: 72
Maru [Langsu]páp ‘rot / rotten’LaPolla 87: 72
Maru [Langsu]pap³¹ ‘rot / spoil’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 792.43
Atsi [Zaiwa]pup ‘rot / rotten’LaPolla 87: 72
Atsi [Zaiwa]pup²¹ ‘rot / spoil’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 792.42
Atsi [Zaiwa]pup²¹tʃeʔ²¹morpheme v.‘rot’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1330.30

6.1.2Loloish2

*Loloishm-bupᴸ ‘write’Bradley 79 PLo: 672
*Loloishm-bupᴸ ‘rot’Bradley 79 PLo: 732

6.1.2.1Northern Loloish11

Nusu (Southern)bɑ̱⁵³ ‘rot / spoil’Sun J 86 Nusu
Nusu (Northern)bɔ̱⁵³ ‘rot / spoil’Sun J 86 Nusu
Nusu (Southern)pio̱⁵³ ‘write’Sun J 86 Nusu
Nusu (Northern)pio̱⁵⁵ ‘write’Sun J 86 Nusu
Yi (Liangshan)bu̱³³ ‘write’Ma 08 Yi: index
Yi (Xide)bu̱³³ ‘write’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 623.21

6.1.2.2Central Loloish23

Jinuopjo³³ ‘write’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 623.34
Jinuo (Youle)pjo⁵⁵ ‘write’Gai 86
Jinuopjo⁵⁵ v.‘write’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1736.44
Jinuo (Youle)pu⁵⁵ ‘rot / spoil’Gai 86
Jinuopu⁵⁵ ‘rot / spoil’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 792.34
Lahubùʔ ‘rot / rotten’LaPolla 87: 72
Lahu (Black)bùʔ ‘speckled / spotted’Matisoff 74 TJLB: 360
Lahu (Black)bùʔ ‘rot (e.g. wood) / mildew (e.g. clothing)’Matisoff 72 LTSR: 75
Lahu (Black)bùʔ be v.‘spotted’Matisoff 72 LTSR: 89(a)
Lahu (Yellow)bv̩⁵ ‘write’Chang 86
Lisubaw3 ‘write / make spots’Matisoff 72 LTSR: 89(b)
Lisu (Central)baw³ v.‘write’Fraser 22
Lisubo̱³³ v.‘write’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1736.40
Lisubo⁴⁴ ‘write’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 623.27
Lisubwɨ̀ c ‘rot / spoil’Matisoff 72 LTSR: 75
Lisu (Northern)bɔ³³ V‘write; describe; embroider; paint’Bradley 94 Lisu
Lisu (Northern)bɔ³³ku⁵⁵morpheme ‘able to write’Bradley 94 Lisu
Lisu (Northern)bɔ³³ta⁵⁵morpheme ‘write; register’Bradley 94 Lisu

6.1.2.3Southern Loloish19

Akhabo LS ‘write / make a design’Matisoff 72 LTSR: 89(a)
Akhabu LS ‘mildewed’Matisoff 72 LTSR: 75
Akhabùq ‘rotten’Hansson 89 AHKP: 498
Hani (Dazhai)bu̱³¹ ‘rot / spoil’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 792.31
Hani (Caiyuan)pv̱³³ ‘rot / spoil’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 792.30
Hani (Gelanghe)bu̱³¹ ‘rot / spoil’Li Yongsui 86 Hani
Hani (Shuikui)pv̱̩³¹ ‘rot / spoil’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 792.32
Silabjɔ̰21 v.‘write’Kato 08 Lao: 173

6.1.2.4Southeastern Loloish1

Southern Mujibɯ²¹ɕi³³morpheme(-a⁵⁵morphemeɣjɛ²¹morpheme) ‘rot’Pelkey 11 Phula: 865

6.2Naxi4

Laze (Xiangjiao)lɑ˥morphemebv˩ v.‘rot’Michaud 06 NaLaze: 2163
Na (Yongning)bæ˩bæ˩˧ ‘spotted’Michaud 06 NaLaze
Naxipɚ⁵⁵ v.‘write’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1736.45

Cite this entry

STEDT etymon #5407, *m-bup ‘ROT / SPOTTED / WRITE’.
Stable link: https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/5407
Data: STEDT v1.0 (2017). Accessed: [date].
References: cf. HPTB p. 369
BibTeX
@misc{stedt-5407,
  title  = {{*m-bup 'ROT / SPOTTED / WRITE'}},
  author = {STEDT},
  year   = {2017},
  note   = {Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT) v1.0, etymon #5407},
  url    = {https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/5407}
}