Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/g/s-ni-s
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This Proto-Sino-Tibetan entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence. |
Proto-Sino-Tibetan
Etymology
- Proto-Sino-Tibetan: ?
- Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *g/s-ni-s (Matisoff, STEDT); *g-nis (Benedict, 1972; Chou, 1972; LaPolla, 1987); *g-ni-s (Weidert, 1987)
Alongside the root for "three" (*g-sum), this root for "two" is one of the most lexemically and phonologically stable numerals in Sino-Tibetan languages, and lexical replacement of this etymon is excessively rare: e.g. Jingpho /ləkhôŋ/ which has not been successfully connected to anything else. The Jingpho word for "one" has a similar shape, /ləŋâi/, and is also etymologically unclear.
This root appears unmistakably cognate with *s-ni-s (“seven”). See there for more.
The Burmese form seems to suggest a proto-language velar final variant: *-ik.
Numeral
*s-ni-s
| Proto-Sino-Tibetan numerals | |
|---|---|
| ONE | *ʔit *kat *tjak ~ g-t(j)ik |
| TWO | *g/s-ni-s |
| THREE | *g-sum |
| FOUR | *b-ləj |
| FIVE | *l/b-ŋa |
| SIX | *d-k-ruk |
| SEVEN | *s-ni-s |
| EIGHT | *b-r-gjat ~ b-g-rjat |
| NINE | *d/s-kəw |
| TEN | *gip *ts(j)i(j) ~ tsjaj |
| TWENTY | *m-kul |
| HUNDRED | *b-r-gja |
| THOUSAND | *s-tawŋ |
Descendants
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