Proto-Altaic: *sàrp`a
Meaning: a k. of tool
Russian meaning: вид инструмента
Comments: Martin 242, АПиПЯЯ 73, Doerfer MT 82. The root must have denoted a k. of stick used in agriculture, most probably digging stick or hoe, with a later transition to "plough", and in TM, exotically, to "eating stick" or "chopsticks". Mong. sabqa, because of the absent -r-, is most probably < Manchu, whereas the original root is preserved as *sorbi 'stick, staff' (although the -o-vowel here is a bit strange - *sarb- would be expected; perhaps we are actually dealing with a suffixed form like *sorbuji, with a secondary labialization < *sarbuji).
