Notes:Cf. Blaz. Eleph., passim: Brb.; "maybe" Akk. and ECu pBoni *àlíšì 'female elephant'; "if the Berber -w- originates from the older -b-," (impossible - A.M.) "the closest parallels are found in Chad (E) Mukulu ʔêlbi 'elephant' and perhaps (W) Tangale làbàtà id." (ibid., 198); compares Dah. wāla to pSAM *wiyyèl 'rhinoceros' (with Rend. -ǯ- is secondary <*-yy-) and, illogically, to WCh. Angas wŭǯār̆, CCh. wùzil 'hippopotamus' (ibid., 201) where ǯ and z are primary sibilants or affricates.
Notes:One wonders whether this root may have been derived from Afras. *ʔar- 'elephant/hippopotamus' (3628), with the -b formant (of harmful animals?). Cf. Blaz. Eleph. 198, 203. In CCh (Kotoko group) *-f versus *-b in other Afrasian is difficult to explain. Cf. ECush: Oromo rōbī, rōṗī; Burji rōbḗ; Sidamo robē, robicco, Darasa rōṗe reconstructed by Blazek as *robH- 'hippopotamus' (Bla. Eleph., 203; add also Geleba rooṗe id. Huds. HEC, 80), likely related with the present root. Blazek also includes in *robH- two forms which are probably related to *lVʔVb- ~ *ʔVlb- 'elephant/hippopotamus' (131).
Notes:Bla Eleph., 201: "Beja has only doubtful parallels in NOm." (Bask., Wol. and Zaisse; also Kačama šoro not belonging here)..."if we accept a loss of -r- in Beja" (we do not) "if these forms are not borrowed from ECush. *warš-" (they are rather not)
Notes:Cf. HSED, 650 *dan(g)- 'elephant' (Iraqw; Kafa, Moča and Anf., Bworo; HECu. forms of the dan- type, with an unexplainable loss of -ng; and Dah. d_annaba_, also with a strange loss of -ng- and the presence of -b_- difficult to interpret); and 652 *dangol- 'elephant' (Ometo and ECh: Dng., Mig. and Sok. dogol) further compared with Saho-Afar dakaano and LECu *dagon- (Som. dagon and, strangely inluded into LECu, Dah. dokomi). Cf. also Bla. Eleph., 199, where "the most widespread term for 'elephant' common for most of Cushitic and Omotic languages"...probably "unique pan-Cushitic - Omotic isogloss" includes a lot of diverse terms which I prefer to distribute among several different roots.
Notes:Cf. Bla. Eleph., 204: NOm., NBauchi and, with a question mark, CCh. (Gidar and Lame) which may not belong here. The Anlaut *ʔ- is proposed on a very tentative basis: in Ngizim, acc. to Stolb., 1996, 74 *h- and *ʔ- may render 0, while in Yaaku, acc. to Bla. CL., 2, only *ʔ yields 0. Cf. HSED 2658: WCh *ǯun-H- 'rhinoceros' (in North Bauchi: acc. to Skin NB 26, all the forms quoted in HSED mean 'hippopotamus'); CCh *čuwan- ("irregulat *č-") 'elephant', ECh *ǯun- id.; Afaw *ǯihun- id.
Notes:*ǯ- in the reconstructed form is confirmed by two Ch. examples. In PCh., acc. to Stolbova 1996, 74-75, lanyngeals have disappeared in *HVCVCV roots (*HVCVC > *CVCV), i.e. *ǯV(HV)m- may reflect *(HV)ǯVm-. As for Sem., one cannot rule out an exotic restructuring in Eth.: *ḥarmad_ <*ḥad_mar- <*ḥad_Vm, with metathesis and insertion of -r- under the influence of Gz. harmās 'elephant' (LGz., 219) from Sem. *ha/irmī/āS- (*-S reflecting either *-š < Afras. *-s, or *-s < Afras. *-c) 'elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo' (Arb. hirmīs- 'rhinocéros; buffle; lion féroce' BK 2 1415). Cf. *ǯiHun- ~ *ǯinaH- 'elephant' (3636).
Notes:Cf. Sem. *pīl-, Gz. falfal- id. Cf. Ill.-Sv. 1966, 26 (Sem. and Margi) and, in this connecrion, *pi/al- 'elephant; aardvark'. Cf. Bla. Eleph., 196, where various Afras. forms in -r and -l, some meaning 'elephant/rhinoceros', other 'horn' are united, and "the semantic motivation "horn" > "elephant (/rhinoceros)" confirmed by typological evidences" (in particular, Sum. am-si 'elephant', composed from am 'wisent' and si 'horn' , apud Salonen 1976, 175) is tentatively proposed.
Notes:Cf. *piʔVr- 'elephant/rhinoceros' (3641). Cf. Bla. Eleph., 196, where various Afras. forms in -r and -l, some meaning 'elephant/rhinoceros', other 'horn' are united, and "the semantic motivation "horn" > "elephant (/rhinoceros)" confirmed by typological evidences" (in particular, Sum. am-si 'elephant', composed from am 'wisent' and si 'horn' , apud Salonen 1976, 175) is tentatively proposed. Also quoted ibid. are similarly looking terms meaning 'elephant' from non-Afrasian African languages; and, finally, CCh. forms in mb- meaning 'elephant', WCh. forms in *ḅ- and SOm. forms in b- meaning 'horn' are compared.
