STEDT
The Body  ›  Diffuse Organs  ›  Skin
STEDT #591

*pʷ(i/u)(l/n)

SKIN

Reconstruction analysis

handlewunprefixpinitialwrhymeun ~ puncoverL · NT

Intermediate reconstructions

Tani*pɯn ‘SKIN’JS-HCST: 185
Kuki-Chin*wun ‘SKIN (n.) / LEATHER’PKC #1169
Tangkhulic*hol ‘SKIN / BARK’DRM#506
Northern Naga/Konyakian*s-wun ⪤ *wur ‘SKIN / FLESH’

Connections

HPTB*ʔul ‘skin’p. 58
HPTB*pun ⪤ *pin ‘skin’p. 418
HPTB*pʷul ⪤ *pʷil ‘skin’pp. 280, 501
HPTB*wul ⪤ *wun ‘skin’p. 418

Notes

Like other roots reconstructed with *pʷ-, the reflexes of this etymon vary between labial stops and w-, v-, or zero initial.1 This root also shows the widespread Tibeto-Burman patterns of variation between medial -i- and -u-, and between final -l and -n.

A key doublet justifying this reconstruction are the Lushai (Mizo) forms pil and vun, both cited in Marrison 1967:233.

The Sunwar forms with initial s- and final -l ('ku-sul ‘skin’, 'sul-cā ‘feel (by touch)’, krusul ‘bark (of tree)’, kusul 'u:-cā ‘skin’) might also be related, if we assume an intermediate form like **s-wul. Cf. also French’s (1983) Proto-Northern-Naga reconstructions *wur SKIN and *swun FLESH.

1 See Matisoff 2000, “An Extrusional Approach to *p-/w- Variation in Sino-Tibetan.”

Reflexes & cognates141 reflexes · 25 subgroups

0.1Tibeto-Burman (previously published reconstructions)4

*Tibeto-Burmanpʷulpʷil ‘skin’Matisoff 03 HPTB: 608

1.1.1Tani1

*Tanipɯn n‘skin’Sun J 93 HCST: 366

1.1.1.1Western Tani46

Bengniaprefix-pin n‘skin’Sun J 93 HCST
Bengniaprefix-pin ‘skin’Sun J 93 Tani
Bokar(aprefixpin)dɯ v‘shell (peanuts)’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 1143.24
Bokaraprefix pin n‘skin’Huang and Dai 92 TBL: 0265.24
Bokaraprefix-morpheme aprefix-pin ‘husk’Sun J 93 Tani
Bokaraprefix-pin n‘skin’Sun J 93 HCST
Bokaraprefix-pin ‘skin’Sun J 93 Tani
Bokar Lhobaaprefix pin ‘skin’Sun H 91 ZMYY: 266.51
Bokar Lhobaaprefixpin ‘hide, leather’Sun H 80 MLD
Bokar Lhobaaprefixpin ‘skin’Sun H 80 MLD
Galo`aprefixpin n.‘skin’GLDC 09 Galo
Galo`binmorphemepin n.‘goatskin’GLDC 09 Galo
Galo`homorphemedum#6293 PTani *dum ‘BARKING DEER’-`aprefixpin n.‘deerskin’GLDC 09 Galo
Galo`homorphemepin n.‘mithun skin’GLDC 09 Galo
Galo`homorphememorpheme-`təmorphemepin n.‘elephant skin’GLDC 09 Galo
Galo`menmorphemepin n.‘tiger skin’GLDC 09 Galo
Galoprefixpin n.‘cowhide’GLDC 09 Galo
Galoprefixpin n.‘leather’GLDC 09 Galo
Galoaprefixpin ‘skin’Das Gupta 63 Gal
Miri, Hilleprefixpin ‘bark’Simon 76 Miri
Nishingaprefixpin ‘skin’Das Gupta 69 Daf
Taginaprefixpin ‘skin’Das Gupta 83 Tag
Taginaprefixpin ‘bark (of plant)’Das Gupta 83 Tag
Taginaprefixpɯn ‘skin’Das Gupta 83 Tag

1.2Kuki-Chin3

*Chinwun n‘SKIN / LEATHER’VanBik 09 PKC: 1169
Chinbokvun ‘skin’Matisoff 87 BP
Khoibuun ‘skin’Brown 37 Indo

1.2.1.2Southern Plains Chin9

Ashouprefix-ünˊˊ ‘skin’VanBik 09 PKC: 1169
Cho (Mindat)vun ‘skin (living being only)’VanBik 09 PKC: 1169

1.2.3Maraic6

1.3“Naga” Areal Group2

Maringun, wun ‘skin’Marrison 67 Naga
Maringwun ‘skin’Brown 37 Indo

1.3.3Zeme Group1

Puironmun ‘skin’Rare nasal reflex of #591 PTB *pʷ(i/u)(l/n) SKIN labial initial.Marrison 67 Naga

1.3.4Tangkhulic8

*Tangkhulichol ‘skin / bark’Mortensen 12 Tk: 506
Champhungamorpheme-hul ‘skin’Brown 37 Indo
Huishuʔamorpheme-hɐŋ ‘skin; scales (of fish)’Mortensen 12 Tk: BodyParts.029
Tankghul (Central)omorpheme-hoi ‘skin’Brown 37 Indo
Tangkhul (Northern)amorpheme- ‘skin’Brown 37 Indo
Tangkhul (Standard)amorpheme-hui ‘skin’Brown 37 Indo
Tusomʔɯmorpheme-xui ‘skin’Mortensen 12 Tk: BodyParts.229
Ukhrulsamorpheme-huj ‘animal skin’Mortensen 12 Tk

1.7.2Northern Naga/Konyakian4

*Northern Nagaprefix-swun ‘calf (of leg)’French 83: 466
*Northern Nagawur ‘skin / flesh’French 83: 549

1.7.2.1Tangsa-Nocte5

1.7.2.2Konyak-Chang5

1.7.3.1Jingpho1

Jingphonèʔ#545 PTB *m-ney ‘PENIS’Allofams114 #1285 PTB *m-(l/n)ey ⪤ *m-li ‘PENIS’114a #1284 PTB *m-ley ⪤ *m-li ‘PENIS’114b #545 PTB *m-ney ‘PENIS’-ūm ‘foreskin / prepuce’Final nasal in Jingpho -ūm perhaps result of assimilation to preceding round vowel.Matisoff 74 TJLB: 126

2.1.2Bodic1

Kaikephon ‘skin’Matisoff 87 BP

2.3.4Western Kiranti4

Sunwar'sul-morpheme v‘feel (by touch)’Hale 73 CSD: 02b1.51
Sunwarkrumorphemesul n‘bark (of tree)’Hale 73 CSD: 01.027
Sunwarku#589 PTB *kwa ‘SKIN’sul 'u:morpheme-morpheme v‘skin’Hale 73 CSD: 03b.31

Cite this entry

STEDT etymon #591, *pʷ(i/u)(l/n) ‘SKIN’.
Stable link: https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/591
Data: STEDT v1.0 (2017). Accessed: [date].
References: JAM-LITB 7.2
BibTeX
@misc{stedt-591,
  title  = {{*pʷ(i/u)(l/n) 'SKIN'}},
  author = {STEDT},
  year   = {2017},
  note   = {Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT) v1.0, etymon #591},
  url    = {https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/591}
}