Proto-North Caucasian: *x_wīrʕi ( ~ -ĕ)
Meaning: a k. of tree (hornbeam, beech-tree)
Notes: Correspondences are regular. The PWC form has a dental prefix *t-. Abdokov (1983, 112) compares the WC form with reflexes of EC *rĕxwV 'stick, wood' (q.v.) (with some confusion of this root and *rä̆śwĒ 'wood, beam'). Phonetically both comparisons are acceptable, but ours seems to us somewhat better semantically.
