Reconstruction:Proto-Northwest Caucasian/pǝχ́ʷA

This Proto-Northwest Caucasian 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-Northwest Caucasian

Etymology

Perhaps the original meaning was “woman, wife”, as testified by a few compounds, such as Abkhaz аԥҳәыс (apḥʷəs, “woman”) or Ubykh pχʲašʷ (“wife”).

Noun

*pǝχ́ʷA

1. daughter

Descendants

• Proto-Circassian: *pχʷǝ (see there for further descendants)
• Proto-Abkhaz-Abaza: *pǝħa
  • Abkhaz: аԥҳа (apḥa)
  • Abaza: пхӏа (pḥa)
• Ubykh: ԥхьа (pxʲa)

References

• Nikolaev, Sergei L., Starostin, Sergei A. (1994) “*qwä̆nV”, in A North Caucasian Etymological Dictionary‎^[1], Moscow: Asterisk Publishers