Number: 143
Proto-Semitic: *d_Vb(b)-(ān)-
Meaning: tail, back
Akkadian: Cf. zibbānu '(sheep) with a large tail' SB [CAD z 100], [AHw 1523].
Both sources connect it with zibbatu 'tail' (see *d_a/inab- 'tail', No. ), but this would imply the form *zibbatānu and not zibbānu; in principle, the latter adjective may preserve an archaic form without the feminine suffix -at, though its interpretation as a derivative of the present root should not be disregarded
Arabic: d_ubābat- 'la queue' [BK 1 763]; d_uʔābat- 'queue; toupet' [ibid. 760], with different triconsonantization patterns
Geʕez (Ethiopian): zabān 'back, back part, tail' [LGz 631]
Tigre: zǝban 'back' [LH 499]
Tigrai (Tigriñña): zǝban 'dorso, schiena' [Bass 732]
Notes: Scarce evidence; phonetically problematic.
The AKK word may be alternatively related to *d_a/inab- 'tail' (No. ). ETH *zVbān- 'back' is also comparable to ARB zabbūnat- 'cou' [BK 1 972] to reconstruct SEM *zabV̄n- {} *ʒabV̄n- 'back, neck'.
Cf. *d_a/inab- 'tail' (No. ).
[LGz 631]: ETH, ARB (zaban- 'side, lateral part', zabbūn 'neck')
