PROTO: *HmĭɦwV
MEANING: smell,odour; cry; an odorous grass
COMMENT: An interesting common NC root. Phonetically it is one of a few roots with the structure HRVHV. Semantically it also presents some interesting features. The original meaning was most probably 'smell, odour' with two subsequent semantic developments: a) > 'mint' (as 'odorous grass') and b) > 'expiration, movement of air' > 'cry, moan' (only in Nakh).
Perhaps we should also relate to this root Lak. jaj 'a k. of grass' (пажитник) and Khin. jenje-č 'caraway' (if these forms can be traced to an intermediate structure *HinHV < *HimHV).
The root *HmĭɦwV probably served as basis for deriving PEC *miɦwVrV 'a k. of odorous grass' (q.v.), which perhaps in this case should be reconstructed as *HmĭɦwV-rV.
See Abdokov 1983, 98 (containing also a suggestion of a possible etymological connection between *HmĭɦwV 'smell' and PEC *mɨ̆ɦwVlV 'nose' q.v.).
