High East Cushitic etymology :

Proto-High East Cushitic: *bVwVy-

Afroasiatic etymology: Afroasiatic etymology

Meaning: 'hippopotamus'

Burji (Bambala, Dashe): bóoy-ee 'hippopotamus' Sass. Burji, 40; acc. to Sasse, the same word as booy-ée 'domestic pig', both forms very likely loanwords from Oromo bóoyy-ee 'wild boar' from PECush *booy(y)- 'naked'; in view of Khamir bíwā 'hippopotamus' doubts in Sasse's etymology may arise

Afroasiatic etymology :

Proto-Afro-Asiatic: *ʔab- (?)

Meaning: elephant

Semitic: *ʔabaw-at- 'elephant'

Egyptian: *ʔVb- 'elephant; rhinoceros' (?)

Central Chadic: *ʔa(m)b- 'elephant/hippopotamus'

Central Cushitic (Agaw): *biw- 'hippo'

High East Cushitic: *bVwVy- 'hippopotamus'

Notes: Common AA status questionable. Cf. Bl. Eleph., 198, 202; Eg ꜣb.w may be <*rVb- or *lVb- as well

Semitic etymology :

Number: 1976

Proto-Semitic: *ʔabaw-at-

Afroasiatic etymology: Afroasiatic etymology

Meaning: 'elephant'

Tigre: ʔabot name of an elephant (poet.) LT 367

Notes: Cf. Akk. ub/pātum `dicke (= trächtige?) Kuh' (fat cow [= big with a calf?]) OB; u. < ebû; AHw., p.1400; Zway bāt (Z)

Egyptian etymology :

Old Egyptian: ꜣb.w

Afroasiatic etymology: Afroasiatic etymology

Meaning: 'elephant' OK E-G I, 7; 'rhinoceros' MK Blaz. Eleph., 198 apud Störk 1975, 1214-50

Notes: That ꜣb.w (OK-MK) is phonetically rather ʔVb- than rab- or lab- is corroborated by OInd. ibha- 'elephant' (Blaz. Eleph., 198 apud Mayhofer I, 90; III, 644) and Latin ebur < Eg. ꜣb 'ivory' (ibid., apud Ivanov 1984, 71), though, theoretically, both loanwords could have been borrowed into Indo-European languages after *r had become ʔ in Egyptian (a disputable process both phonetically and chronologically)

Central Chadic etymology :

Proto-CChadic: *ʔa(m)b-

Afroasiatic etymology: Afroasiatic etymology

Meaning: 'elephant/hippopotamus'

Gisiga: ʔabu 'hippopotamus' Bl. Eleph., 202; together with ngabu called "the later loans...from Ful", which is obviously so in the latter case (Ful ngabu, pl. gabi), but hardly so in case of ʔabu.

Buduma=Yedina: ambu 'elephant' Bl. Eleph. 198 apud Sölken; comp. to Log. nevi, Makeri árfu, etc.; Ngala ambu (also amwe, anwe) Porkh., 34

Notes: Both Blaz. Eleph., 198 and Porkh., 34 unite all Kotoko forms reconstructing *ʔarbu/i (Blazek, ibid.) and *Vr(V)pV (Porkh. ibid.; irregularity of the reflexes of *p is is explained by the "combinatorial influence of the sonant", which is far from convincing). One cannot exclude two (or even three) different roots

Central Cushitic (Agaw) etymology :

Proto-Agaw: *biw-

Afroasiatic etymology: Afroasiatic etymology

Meaning: 'hippo'

Khamir: bíwā 'Hippopotamus' Rein Cham., 351

Dembea: `

Notes: Comp. in Bl. Eleph., 202 to *yibeh- - see *(yV)bih/ḥ- 'hippo'

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