STEDT #668

*pu

VAGINA

Reconstruction analysis

handlepuinitialprhymeucoverP · V

Notes

This root appears mostly in Himalayish, with a possible cognate from Qiangic. The second syllable of Karbi mak-phu ‘mons Veneris’ seems unrelated. In view of the gloss it probably means something like ‘swelling; protuberance’. It bears a resemblance to other reflexes of the well-attested root *bwam ⪤ *pwam PLUMP / SWOLLEN (STC #172; HPTB pp. 249, 252, 341, 518).

Reflexes & cognates9 reflexes · 5 subgroups

2.1.4Tamangish2

Chantyalkumorpheme◦pu ‘vagina’Noonan 92: 10.4.1

Chantyalkumorpheme◦pu-yemorpheme galamorpheme ‘vulva / labia’Chantyal gala ‘cheek’; -ye GENITIVE. Lit. “vagina’s cheeks”.Noonan 92: 10.4.2

2.3.2Southern Kiranti4

Bantawaphu◦ci#1349 PTB *si(ŋ/k) ‘VAGINA’ ‘vagina (baby talk)’Rai 85 BnDs

Bantawaphu◦ci#1349 PTB *si(ŋ/k) ‘VAGINA’ ‘vagina / vulva’Rai 84 BnDc: 60

Bantawaphu◦ci#1349 PTB *si(ŋ/k) ‘VAGINA’ dhü#661 PTB *s-tu ‘VAGINA / VULVA’PTani *tɯ ‘VULVA / VAGINA’PKC *tshuu ‘VULVA / VAGINA’PKir *tu ‘VAGINA’ ‘vagina’Rai 84 BnDc: 60

Bantawaphu◦ri#1616 PTB *li-n ‘VAGINA’PKar *linᴮ ‘VAGINA’ ‘vagina’Rai 85 BnDs

2.3.4Western Kiranti1

Hayupu-tsing#1349 PTB *si(ŋ/k) ‘VAGINA’ ‘vagina’Note the variation between final velar nasal and zero-final in the Hayu forms. See also the similar Hayu reflexes of #686 PTB *si(ŋ/k) MOUTH / LIP.Matisoff 87 BP

2.4Kham-Magar-Chepang1

Khampə◦reː#1616 PTB *li-n ‘VAGINA’PKar *linᴮ ‘VAGINA’ ‘vagina’Watters 89 KhQ

3.2Qiangic1

Qiang (Yadu)pʰo◦ʂ#1349 PTB *si(ŋ/k) ‘VAGINA’ ‘vagina’Qiang ʂ looks like the fused initial consonant of the second syllable of an original compound, descended from #1349 PTB *si(ŋ/k) VAGINA. Fusion of compounds into monosyllables is a striking characteristic of the Qiangic languages (e.g. Benedict 1983, “Qiang monosyllabization: a third phase in the cycle”, LTBA 7.2:113-4).Dai 89 Qian: 146

Cite this entry

STEDT etymon #668, *pu ‘VAGINA’.

Stable link: https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/668

Data: STEDT v1.0 (2017). Accessed: [date].

References: ("Him")

BibTeX

@misc{stedt-668,
  title  = {{*pu 'VAGINA'}},
  author = {STEDT},
  year   = {2017},
  note   = {Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT) v1.0, etymon #668},
  url    = {https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/668}
}