Proto-Altaic: *p`átà(kV) ( ~ -t`-)
Meaning: fish fin; gills
Russian meaning: рыбий плавник; жабры
Comments: The root is very similar phonetically to *p`ắt`à(-kV) 'bottom, lower side' and the two roots could in fact have influenced each other in Turkic and Japanese. The TM languages, however, clearly oppose them. The TM evidence may indeed point to a different second vowel in 'fish fin' - perhaps a reconstruction like *p`átì(kV) would be more plausible; in the latter case the -a-vocalism in Jpn. would be secondary, under the influence of *p`ắt`à(-kV) 'bottom'.