Tungus etymology :

Proto-Tungus-Manchu: *nej(l)V-

Altaic etymology: Altaic etymology

Meaning: small louse, nit

Russian meaning: мелкая вошь, гнида

Evenki: nej-ke

Ulcha: ńile-kte

Orok: neli-ɣe

Nanai: ńile-ke

Comments: ТМС 1, 616.

Altaic etymology :

Proto-Altaic: *neji

Nostratic: Nostratic

Meaning: louse, nit

Russian meaning: вошь, гнида

Mongolian: *ni-sa-

Tungus-Manchu: *nej(l)e-

Korean: *ní

Comments: SKE 165, EAS 76, АПиПЯЯ 296. The Mong. form presupposes an earlier *ni-(su) 'louse'.

Mongolian etymology :

Proto-Mongolian: *ni-sa-

Altaic etymology: Altaic etymology

Meaning: to crumble (e. g. lice), to crush with the finger-nails

Russian meaning: щелкать пальцами, придавить ногтями

Written Mongolian: nise-le- (L 586: nisal-, nisla-, nisel-, nisači-)

Khalkha: ńasla-, ńasči-

Buriat: ńaha 'finger flip', ńahal-

Kalmuck: nisǝl-

Ordos: nisal- 'to kill by pressing between fingernails'

Monguor: nesǝlǝ-

Comments: KW 277, MGCD 509.

Korean etymology :

Proto-Korean: *ní

Altaic etymology: Altaic etymology

Meaning: louse

Russian meaning: вошь

Modern Korean: i

Middle Korean: ní

Comments: Nam 119, KED 1316.

Nostratic etymology :

Eurasiatic: *ñejV

Meaning: nit

Borean: Borean

Altaic: *neji

Uralic: *ńiŋV (*ńiwŋe)

Dravidian: *nāŋūṛ- (?)

Eskimo-Aleut: *Nǝʁǝrtǝ

References: МССНЯ 336; ND 1632 *ńäyu(-ŋV) 'larvas, worms, nit(s)' (+ sparse WChad.).

Uralic etymology :

Number: 638

Proto: *ńiŋV (*ńiwŋe)

> Nostratic: > Nostratic

English meaning: maggot, worm

German meaning: Made, Wurm

Saam (Lapp): njiwnjâ -w'dnjâg- (N) 'the kind of small white or greyish insects which are found e.g. in books, and the kind which come on thick sour milk', njiw'dnjâ -wnj- 'nits, egg of lice'; njim'nja (L) 'junge Laus, die eben ausgekrochen ist'

Khanty (Ostyak): niŋk (V O), ńiŋk (DN) 'Wurm, Made'

Mansi (Vogul): ńiχ_o, ńiχ (KU), ńikūj (VN), ńiŋ_ok_o (So.) 'Made'

Hungarian: nyű (acc. nyüvet) 'Made; dial. Wurm, Laus'

Selkup: njénje (Ta.), njeiju (Ke.) 'Angelwurm, Köder', ńēń 'мато; червь'

Kamass: nejme

Dravidian etymology :

Proto-Dravidian : *nāŋūẓ-

Meaning : earthworm

Nostratic etymology: Nostratic etymology

Proto-South Dravidian: *nāŋūẓ-

South Dravidian etymology :

Proto-South Dravidian : *nāŋūẓ-

Meaning : earthworm

Dravidian etymology: Dravidian etymology

Tamil : nāŋkuẓu, nāŋkūẓ

Tamil meaning : earthworm

Tamil derivates : nākku-ppūci earthworm, roundworm, tapeworm

Malayalam : ñāŋŋūl, ñāññūḷ, nāññūl, nākku pāmpu

Malayalam meaning : earthworm

Kannada : nakkɨlɨ-huḷa (Bark.), nǝñjuli (Hav.)

Kannada meaning : earthworm

Tulu : nakkuru, (D. N. S. Bhat, p. 13) ñakkuḷu

Tulu meaning : earthworm

Miscellaneous : KOR (M) nakuḷu earthworm

Number in DED : 2906

Eskimo etymology :

Proto-Eskimo: *Nǝʁǝrtǝ

Nostratic etymology: Nostratic etymology

Meaning: louse, parasite

Russian meaning: вошь, паразит

Proto-Yupik: *Nǝʁǝrtǝ

Yupik etymology :

Proto-Yupik: *Nǝʁǝrtǝ

Eskimo etymology: Eskimo etymology

Meaning: louse 1, parasite 2

Russian Meaning: вошь 1, паразит 2

Chaplino: nǝʁísta (ǝt) 2

Alutiiq Alaskan Yupik: nǝʁǝsta, naʔasta, nasta 1

Chugach (Birket-Smith): nǝʁi̮sta 1

Central Alaskan Yupik: nǝʁǝsta 1

Comparative Eskimo Dictionary: 230

Long-range etymologies :

Borean (approx.) : NVJV

Meaning : louse, nit

Eurasiatic : *ñejV

Afroasiatic : ? WChad. *nVŋV / *nVʷV mosquito

Sino-Caucasian : *HVŋHwV

Reference : (For NC cf. alternatively PST *m(r)ɨ̆ 140 `taste', Bur. Yas. njam, Hun., Nag. ujám `sweet'; PAA *ʔVm 'bitter, sweet', Yao im 'bitter', Tai ʔǝ:m 'sweet' - cf. also PFU *jimä(-lä) 'sweet'; PSH *ʔVm(Vm)- 'spice; honey'; Amer. *mumu / *mumi 'bee, fly' [+ A]; Amer.-SH, with wrong Nostr., see GE 94 *mus).

Sino-Caucasian etymology :

Proto-Sino-Caucasian: *HVŋHwV

Meaning: bee

Borean etymology: Borean etymology

North Caucasian: *HnēHwV̄

Sino-Tibetan: *jǝ̆ŋ

Comments and references : For NC cf. alternatively PST *m(r)ɨ̆ 140 `taste', Bur. Yas. njam, Hun., Nag. ujám `sweet'; PAA *ʔVm 'bitter, sweet', Yao im 'bitter', Tai ʔǝ:m 'sweet'.

North Caucasian etymology :

Proto-North Caucasian: *HnēHwV̄

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: bee; (honey) > sweet

Proto-Avaro-Andian: *HuʔVn-

Proto-Tsezian: *nɨja- B

Proto-Lak: naj

Proto-Lezghian: *meʔ(ʷ)V-lV- (~ -ʡ-)

Notes: Reconstructed for the PEC level. It is hard to establish whether the original meaning was 'bee' (preserved only in Lak.) or 'sweet' (and 'bee' in Lak. metaphorically as 'sweet-maker'). One of the rare cases of the root structure *HRVHV. In PL (Tab.) m- is the result of secondary labialisation (*neHwV- > *meHwV-).

Avar-Andian etymology :

Protoform: *HuʔVn-

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: sweet, tasty

Avar: huʔína-b

Comments: Av. > Gin. huʔinaw 'sweet'.

Tsezian etymology :

Proto-Tsezian: *nɨja- B

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: sweet

Tsezi: nija-w

Khvarshi: ninu (Radzhibov)

Bezhta: nija-ro (Khosh.)

Gunzib: nija-ru (Gunz.)

Comments: PTsKh *n[ǝ]j- (with differnt suffixes); PGB *nija-ru (cf. also Bezht. Tlad. nijä-rö).

Lak etymology :

Lak root: naj

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: bee

Lak form: naj

Comments: Cf. Khosr. naj id. An old derivate is Lak. naħu- 'tasty' ( < 'sweet'). Lak. naj > Av. naj / na 'bee'.

Lezghian etymology :

Proto-Lezghian: *meʔ(ʷ)V-lV- (~ -ʡ-)

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: sweet

Tabasaran: meʔli

Comment: Cf. also Düb. maIlli id. Attested only in Tab., but having probable external parallels.

Sino-Tibetan etymology :

Proto-Sino-Tibetan: *jǝ̆ŋ

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: fly, bee

Chinese: 蠅 *lǝŋ a fly.

Tibetan: (W) bu-jaŋ bumble-bee.

Burmese: jaŋ common house fly.

Kiranti: *jaŋ

Comments: BG: Garo dźaŋ; Kanauri yāŋ fly, bee. Sh. 42; Ben. 1667. Cf. PAN *buyuŋ 'bumblebee'.

Chinese characters :

Character: 蠅

Modern (Beijing) reading: yíng

Preclassic Old Chinese: lǝŋ

Classic Old Chinese: lǝŋ

Western Han Chinese: lǝŋ

Eastern Han Chinese: źǝŋ

Early Postclassic Chinese: źɨŋ

Middle Postclassic Chinese: jɨŋ

Late Postclassic Chinese: jɨŋ

Middle Chinese: jiŋ

English meaning : a fly

Russian meaning[s]: муха

Comments: Viet. lằng 'bluebottle' is archaic, reflecting a form like WH *lǝŋ. A later loan from the same source is probably Viet. nhặng 'bluebottle' (nh- reflecting MC j- with assimilatory nasalisation); regular Sino-Viet. is dăng.

Sino-Tibetan etymology: Sino-Tibetan etymology

Dialectal data: Dialectal data

Radical: 142

Four-angle index: 7177

Karlgren code: 0892 a

Vietnamese reading: lằng

Jianchuan Bai: sɨ̃7

Dali Bai: zɨ7

Bijiang Bai: -ńe7-

Chinese Dialects :

Number: 2437

Chinese etymology: Chinese etymology

Character: 蠅

MC description : 曾開三平蒸以

ZIHUI: 5859 2606

Beijing: iŋ 12

Jinan: iŋ 12

Xi'an: iŋ 12

Taiyuan: iŋ 1

Hankou: in 2

Chengdu: in 11

Yangzhou: ĩ 11

Suzhou: in 11

Wenzhou: iaŋ 11

Changsha: in 11

Shuangfeng: ɣin 12

Nanchang: in 31

Meixian: jin 12

Guangzhou: jîŋ 12

Xiamen: sîŋ 12 (lit.); sin 12

Chaozhou: siŋ 12

Fuzhou: siŋ 12

Shanghai: iiŋ 1

Zhongyuan yinyun: iǝŋ 12

Kiranti etymology :

Proto-Kiranti: *jaŋ (?/*jak)

Sino-Tibetan etymology: Sino-Tibetan etymology

Meaning: fly (n.) (in compounds)

Tulung: sömu

Kaling: sɔjɔme

Limbu: joŋnābā

Kulung: cǝiǝmma

Comments: Toba 90 *caymV.

Kulung dictionary :

Entry: cǝiǝmma

Kiranti etymology: Kiranti etymology

Grammar: n.

Meaning: fly

Nepali: jhiṃgā.

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