PROTO: *garyam- ~ *gumaray-
MEANING: hippopotamus
NOTES: A complete coincidence of Eth., CCush. Saho-Afar (-ī in Auslaut), HECush. and Omot. forms (common vocalic pattern) suggests borrowing, probably from Agaw, a decisive item being the interpretation of Ugr. gmr as 'hippopotamus' or not. Cf. Bla. Eleph., 204 where "an evident internal etymology" proposed interprets the CCh. and ECh. terms as composed words consisting of *gar- (Blazek quotes Musgu gari '(big) bull', Muskum gèrré, Vulum gàri 'bull') and *yVm- (quoted is Musgu ye_m, yim 'water'). This etymology is plausible (the latter term for 'water' is attested in other Afras.), but a triconsonantal, though metathetic, root in Cush. and Om. with exactly the same meaning makes our etymology more probable. Cf. also Berb. *a-gmar 'mare'
