Proto-Gondi-Kui : *kir_l-
Meaning : ankle, wrist
Notes : The root is almost never used by itself, but always in conjunction with certain parts of body: *kir_l- + 'leg' = ankle, etc. The correspondences are extremely complex, since it is very hard to trace PK -rl-, PPM -eir- and Gondi -r- to a single proto-cluster. However, if we assume this reconstruction, it would be quite possible to compare this form with SDR *kir_- 'small' (DEDR 1594), especially since there is an appropriate parallel in Toda kɨt_ eɫ̣f 'ankle', literally 'small bone'. If we consider *-l- a suffix, the forms are easily explainable.
