STEDT
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STEDT #795

*s-yam

SKIN / OUTER SURFACE

Reconstruction analysis

handleyamprefixsinitialyrhymeamcoverL · N

Notes

Despite its rather limited distribution, this looks like a valid etymon. The *s- prefix is reconstructed because of the Nung form.

Reflexes & cognates11 reflexes · 5 subgroups

2.1.1Western Himalayish1

2.3.2Southern Kiranti1

Bantawajim ‘old skin’Rai 85 BnDs

2.3.4Western Kiranti2

Thulungji ‘slough skin (of a snake)’Allen 75
Thulungjim ‘slough skin (of a snake)’Allen 75

4Nungic1

6.1.1Burmish6

Burmese (Written)ʔəpomorpheme yam ‘upper layer, outer surface’According to Judson, Written Burmese yam is a loanword from Pali, meaning ‘division; watch of the night’ (cf. Lahu yâ(n) ‘time’ < Shan < Burmese), but the other Burmish forms, as well as those from Himalayish languages, suggest that this may actually reflect a PTB root.Judson 93
Maru [Langsu]au³⁵#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’ jam⁵⁵ ‘scalp’Dai 89 Lang: 2.8

Cite this entry

STEDT etymon #795, *s-yam ‘SKIN / OUTER SURFACE’.
Stable link: https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/795
Data: STEDT v1.0 (2017). Accessed: [date].
BibTeX
@misc{stedt-795,
  title  = {{*s-yam 'SKIN / OUTER SURFACE'}},
  author = {STEDT},
  year   = {2017},
  note   = {Sino-Tibetan Etymological Dictionary and Thesaurus (STEDT) v1.0, etymon #795},
  url    = {https://larc-iu.github.io/stedt/etymon/795}
}