Proto-North Caucasian: *šVnšV / *čVnčV (~ -l-)
Meaning: a k. of bird
Notes: Like many birdnames, a reduplicated expressive root with some irregular phonetic variations. The original root must have denoted a medium sized dark bird (cf. various meanings in modern languages: 'blackbird, wild turkey, swallow, pigeon'). Cf. also Hurr. zinz-aBǝ 'pigeon' (or 'swallow'), see Diakonoff-Starostin 1986, 45.It is interesting to note similar birdnames in Georgian: šašvi 'blackbird', šošia 'starling'.
