Abkhaz-Adyghe etymology : Query result

Proto-West-Caucasian: *ʎʷǝ

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: 1 millet 2 bread

Abkhaz: a-šǝ́ 1

Abaza: šǝ-r-ʒa 1

Adyghe: fǝ-ʁʷa 1

Kabardian: xʷǝ 1

Ubykh: sʷǝ́-bIa 2

Comments: PAT *šǝ (the Abaz. form goes back to a compound with PAT *ʒ́V 'grain', with the auxiliary linking morpheme -rǝ-, lit. 'millet grain'). PAK *xʷǝ (Ad. fǝ-ʁʷa means literally 'yellow millet'; cf. also Ad. fǝ-gʷ = Kab. xʷǝ-gʷ < *xʷǝ́-gʷǝ 'pounded millet'). In Ub. cf. also sʷǝ-pǝ́ 'flour' (the meaning of the second components -bIa, -pǝ is not quite clear).

The correspondence PAT *š : PAK *xʷ : Ub. sʷ points unambiguosly to PWC *ʎʷ. All other comparison attempts within WC (PAK *xʷǝ : Ub. χʷa 'millet, grain' - see Mészáros 1934, 386; PAT *šǝ : PAK *mač́ǝ - see Shakryl 1968, 53, 98; PAK *xʷǝ : PAT *qʷǝ-ʒ́ǝ 'pounded millet' - see Rogava 1956, 121) are unacceptable and unnecessary. Ad. fǝgʷ > Osset. (Dig.) fagä 'pounded millet' (see Shagirov 2, 108).