Proto-North Caucasian: *mVq̇_V (?)
Meaning: quail
Notes: Like many birdnames, this is an expressive (probably onomatopoeic) root with many irregularities. It usually appears in a reduplicated form: *mVq̇_Vq̇V (> Av.), *q̇_VmVq̇V ( > Tab.); the PWC form *nVbǝʁ́ʷV can be explained as a secondary dissimilation from *mVmǝʁ́ʷV < *mVmVq̇_V (with yet another type of reduplication).
Because of the root's expressive nature, correspondences are obscured and it is impossible to reconstruct anything but a very approximate shape of the original noun.
