Comments: In PAT used as the 3d p. pronoun *ja-ra 'he'; cf. also *jǝ (Abkh. j(ǝ)-, Abaz. j(ǝ)- the verbal prefix of the 3d person) and *-jǝ within complex demonstrative stems (*a-nǝ-jǝ 'that', *a-rǝ-jǝ 'this' > Abkh., Abaz. ani,ari etc.).
In AK the root functions as the 3d p. possessive prefix (jǝ- 'his'), see Шагиров 1, 180.
In Ubykh jǝ- is the demonstrative pronoun expressing near deixis ('this'); the same morpheme is probably used as a personal prefix of the 3d p. pl.