Proto-North Caucasian: *mħĕrqwĕ ( ~ -ʕ-, -ɨ̆)
Meaning: birch; wood, timber
Notes: In PEC this root is probably the basic name for the birch-tree. It should be strictly distinguished from *mĭhV (probably, "alder") and from *wēqwV ("asp" or "poplar"), although they tend to contaminate and have similar reflexes in many modern languages. See Abdokov 1983, 106.
