Proto-North Caucasian: *chwōlĕ (~ -ă)
Meaning: fox, jackal
Notes: Correspondences between EC and WC are regular except for unpredicted palatalisation in PWC (*šʷV would be expected). This may be explained either by vocalic metathesis (*chwōlĕ / *chwēlŏ) or, perhaps, by the original trisyllabic root structure (*chwōlĕ < earlier *cEhwōlĕ, cf. the probably connected - as a loan or as a common heritage from an earlier source - Semitic form *čuʕāl 'fox').
PN, Lak and part of the Lezgian languages reflect an old diminutive derivate *chwōlV-ḳV (in PN and some Lezgian languages with metathesis *chwōḳVlV).
