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STEDT #587

*(s/z)a-y

EARTH / SAND
Proto-Tibeto-Burman

Intermediate reconstructions

Northern Naga/Konyakian*ʔ-saːy ‘SAND’
Lolo-Burmese*say² ‘SAND’
Loloish*say² ‘SAND’

Notes

The Phunoi, Mpi, and Bisu forms are probably loans from Tai (cf. Siamese saaj < Proto-Tai *zaay). The Siamese word is written with an initial indicating Proto-Tai *dr-, but this is held to be spurious by Li Fang Kuei (1977:161-162).

If the WT form meaning ‘earth’ is indeed cognate to Chinese shā ‘sand’ (OC sa) [GSR #16a-c] / *srāj [WHB]), as suggested in STC p. 188, it is possible that this is an old loan from Sino-Tibetan into Tai.

The palatal suffix in this root, perhaps with a diminutive meaning, is discussed in Matisoff (1995).

A medial -l- turns up in the WB variant form sa-lâi, in Achang, and in Southern Plains Chin.

Chinese comparandum

沙 OC *sɑ, GSR #16a-c ‘sand’; B & S 2011: *{[s]ˁraj}; Mand. shā.

Reflexes & cognates110 reflexes · 21 subgroups

0.1Tibeto-Burman (previously published reconstructions)3

*Tibeto-Burmansa ‘earth / ground / soil / sand’Matisoff 03 HPTB: 612

1.2.1.2Southern Plains Chin2

1.3.4Tangkhulic3

Tangkhulsi◦tuimorpheme n‘sand’Marrison 67 Naga
Ukhrulsi-tujmorpheme ‘sand’Mortensen 12 Tk

1.7.2Northern Naga/Konyakian1

*Northern Nagaʔ-saːy ‘sand’French 83: 541

1.7.2.1Tangsa-Nocte1

Noctesei n‘sand’Marrison 67 Naga

1.7.3.1Jingpho6

Jingphohsai◦bruemorpheme n‘sand’Marrison 67 Naga
Jingphotsai³¹pɹu³¹morpheme ‘sand’Liu 84
Jingphotsai³¹pʒu³¹morpheme n‘sand’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0044.19
Jingphotsai³¹pʒu³¹morpheme ‘sand’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 43.47
Jingphozài-brùmorpheme ‘sand’Matisoff 85 GSTC: 159
Jingphozài-brùmorpheme ‘sand’Matisoff 74 TJLB: 221

1.7.3.2Asakian1

2.1.2.1Tibetan30

Tibetan (Alike)shæ ngumorpheme v.‘quake (earth)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1265.05
Tibetan (Batang)sha ŋgy⁵⁵morpheme jeʔ²³¹morpheme v.‘quake (earth)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1265.03
Tibetan (Batang)sha⁵³ n‘earth / ground’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0022.03
Tibetan (Lhasa)sa⁵⁵ n‘earth / ground’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0022.02
Tibetan (Lhasa)sa⁵⁵jom⁵²morpheme ca¹³²morpheme v.‘quake (earth)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1265.02
Tibetan (Written)sa jommorpheme rgjagmorpheme v.‘quake (earth)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1265.01
Tibetan (Xiahe)sha ŋgumorpheme v.‘quake (earth)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1265.04

3.2Qiangic25

Lyuzusæ⁵³ n‘earth / ground’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0022.18
Muyasæ⁵³ n‘earth / ground’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0022.15
Muyasɐ⁵⁵ŋgi³³morpheme ɦæ²⁴morphemerɐ⁵³morpheme v.‘quake (earth)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1265.15
Muya [Minyak]sɛ⁵⁵tɕhɛ⁵³morpheme ‘earth’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 17.15
Muya [Minyak]ʐɯ⁵³ ‘ground’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 28.15
Namuyisæ⁵⁵zɿ⁵⁵morphemedʑo⁵⁵morphemenba⁵⁵morphemebu⁵³morphemelu̵³morpheme v.‘quake (earth)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1265.46
Qiang (Mawo)zə tɑːʴmmorpheme v.‘quake (earth)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1265.08
Qiang (Mawo)zə◦pmorpheme n‘earth / ground’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0022.08
Qiang (Mawo)zə◦pmorpheme ‘earth’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 17.8
Qiang (Mianchi)(zuè)-dʐɨ̀morpheme púmorpheme-mùmorpheme ‘peasant [field-do-AGT]’Evans 99 Qiang: 222
Qiang (Mianchi)sùmorpheme-zuè ‘dry field [mountain-field]’Evans 99 Qiang: 46
Qiang (Mianchi)zuè (pè)morpheme ‘earth, ground, place’Evans 99 Qiang: 24
Qiang (Mianchi)zuè pèmorpheme n.‘place’Evans 99 Qiang: 75
Qiang (Mianchi)zuè ʐímorpheme ‘dry field [field + dry]’Evans 99 Qiang: 46
Qiang (Mianchi)zuɛ̀ liémorpheme v.‘plow [field-plow (b)]’Evans 99 Qiang: 1932
Qiang (Mianchi)zuɛ̀ pèmorpheme-nə̀morpheme-nómorpheme-bʐàmorpheme ‘area [place-have-how-big]’Evans 99 Qiang: 1034
Qiang (Mianchi)zuɛ́ pèmorpheme-qàmorpheme tàmorpheme ‘underground [field-under]’Evans 99 Qiang: 1070
Qiang (Taoping)zuə³¹pə³³morpheme ‘earth’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 17.9
Queyu (Xinlong)sa⁵⁵ ŋgi⁵⁵morpheme v.‘quake (earth)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1265.13

6.1Lolo-Burmese1

6.1.1Burmish15

Achang (Lianghe)sɛ³¹tsɑ³¹morpheme ‘sand’Dai 85 AcJZ
Achang (Longchuan)să³¹leʔ⁵⁵ ‘sand’morphemeSun H 91 ZMYY: 43.41
Achang (Longchuan)să³¹le⁵⁵ n‘sand’morphemeHuang and Dai 92 TBL: 0044.28
Achang (Luxi)sa⁵⁵tsɿ⁵⁵morpheme ‘sand’Dai 85 AcJZ
Achang (Xiandao)sa³¹lɛ³¹ n‘sand’morphemeHuang and Dai 92 TBL: 0044.29
Burmese (Written)sa-lâi ‘sand’morphemeBenedict 76 WBur
Leqi (Luxi)sə̆⁵⁵mui³¹morpheme n‘sand’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0044.33
Atsi [Zaiwa]să²¹mui⁵¹morpheme n‘sand’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0044.30
Atsi [Zaiwa]să²¹mui⁵¹morpheme ‘sand’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 43.42

6.1.2Loloish1

6.1.2.1Northern Loloish1

Gazhuosɛ³¹m³³morpheme n‘sand’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0044.47

6.1.2.2Central Loloish2

Lahu (Black)šɛ̂ ‘sand’This Lahu form is probably a loan from Burmese, since native Tone *2 syllables with voiceless fricative initials acquire Lahu very-low tone / ̄/. Matisoff 85 GSTC: 159

6.1.2.3Southern Loloish4

Mpin⁴prefixsi⁵ ‘sand’Matisoff 85 GSTC: 159
Mpin⁴prefixsi⁵ ‘sand’Srinuan 76
Côông [Phunoi]khimorpheme◦sǎi ‘sand’Matisoff 85 GSTC: 159

7Karenic1

Pa-Osāi ̈lôŋmorpheme sāi ‘sand’Solnit 89 PaO

Cite this entry

STEDT etymon #587, *(s/z)a-y ‘EARTH / SAND’.
Stable link: https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/587
Data: STEDT v1.0 (2017). Accessed: [date].
References: cf. HPTB p.176
BibTeX
@misc{stedt-587,
  title  = {{*(s/z)a-y 'EARTH / SAND'}},
  author = {STEDT},
  year   = {2017},
  note   = {Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT) v1.0, etymon #587},
  url    = {https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/587}
}