Trustees of Indiana University

Anthropological Linguistics

Some Afroasiatic Etymologies

Author(s): Carleton T. Hodge
Source: Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Mar., 1968), pp. 19-29
Published by: The Trustees of Indiana University on behalf of Anthropological Linguistics
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30029064 .
Accessed: 11/10/2011 02:54

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Trustees of Indiana University and Anthropological Linguistics are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,
preserve and extend access to Anthropological Linguistics.

http://www.jstor.org
 SOME AFROASIATIC ETYMOLOGIES

Carleton T. Hodge

Indiana University

Work on comparative Afroasiatic has been greatly stimulated

by the recent surge in the study of African languages as a whole.1 An
admirable survey of the state of the field has been given us by Diakonoff.
This deals largely with morphology. While he treats the phonology on
the basis of the work done to date, he says, "The laws of phonetic
correspondences between the branches have not been sufficiently eluci-
dated. "2 There has been no question about this, and the only answer
to the problem is for there to be an exhaustive, detailed comparison
of the languages involved. This would entail adequate descriptions of
many languages at present very imperfectly known, followed by the
comparison of reconstructed proto-Semitic, proto-Cushitic, proto-
Chadic and proto-Berber with Egyptian (or perhaps an internally
reconstructed pre-Egyptian) .3 It will be some years before this is
possible, but some solid steps have recently been taken in this direction,
both along descriptive and comparative lines.4 We shall here be con-
cerned only with the latter. In this area Newman and Ma have published
on Comparative Chadic, as has the late IlliZ-SvityZ. Dolgopoljskij has
published on comparative Cushitic.5 We can only applaud these, use
their results to the extent possible and hope for more of the same.
A great deal of work has been done comparing only or primarily
two branches of the family (or phylum, if one prefers this term).6 This
is the least satisfactory type of comparison, as the evidence of a third
witness greatly strengthens the hypothesis of relationship. Nevertheless,
studies of this kind have proved valuable, and such limited observations
may stimulate other, more definitive, work. List I gives examples of
comparisons involving only two branches.
Comparatively few morphemes have been found represented in
all branches of the family. Correspondences involving three or more
branches are our present best source of tentative sound correspondences.
Lists 2 and 3 give examples. These are, I believe, typical of the
correspondences generally made. In order to show more clearly what
branches are represented a summary formula is given to the left, indi-
cating each branch by a capital letter. Parentheses around the letter
representing the branch indicate more questionable items, such as
those introduced by cf. in the lists.
We are, however, gradually approaching a more satisfactory
state of affairs. Articles such as those of IlliF-SvityE, Dolgopoljskij
and Newman-Ma furnish us at least limited possibilities of comparisons

19
20 Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 10, No. 3

based on branch proto-forms. Such comparisons are made in two of

these articles, but Newman-Ma preferred to defer this aspect of the
work. That their work is highly suggestive to the comparativist is
seen by List 4, which gives some of their reconstructions along with
a few proposed cognates, mainly Egyptian. Even in such a brief list
one may see the partial check imposed on the branch reconstruction
by the comparison with another branch or branches. For example,
in item 50 the /b/ in Egyptian supports the /w/ of *dawk- as against
Newman*d-k-. Item 77 appears to have had a medial /b/ as shown
also by internal evidence.7 In item 86 the /r/ is supported by the
other evidence, although one may question whether or not the Chadic
is a loan from Arabic. Item 105 illustrates how more than one form
of the word is to be taken into consideration. Neither the reconstruc-
tion with *F nor the Egyptian /p/ explain in any way the /w/ in
Bachama pwa (and in certain other Chadic languages). Coptic has
singular pe pl. pewe, which shows that the Chadic forms with /w/
are originally formed on the same base as the Coptic plural.
In endeavoring to make valid lists of cognate items one is
immediately struck by the large number of possibilities. The sound
correspondences of the consonants, to the extent they are known,
leave a great deal of latitude in the assignment of morphemes in
different languages to the same proto-root. The semantics are even
more elastic. A single root in Egyptian might, from both the phonetic
and semantic points of view, be cognate with a number of Semitic roots.
In such a case the value of cognates from other branches is obvious.
It is just as obvious that this also may be uncertain. An example of
this multiple choice problem is given in items 15-17 in List 3. How
can one determine that d 3 is cognate with the *dul- roots rather than
the *dir- or *dil- ones? (See below for further discussion.) Possible
correspondences for Egyptian roots with 1 3 include those in Arabic
with any of the four emphatics /.t d s z/ plus /1/, /n/ or /r/.
Mathematically the possibilities begin to make the establishment of
cognates more and more uncertain.
We are, then, led to look for criteria which would give greater
precision to the identification of roots. Another attested variable is the
greatest desideratum. Such inquiry raises basic questions, familiar but
still largely unanswered, concerning the nature of the proto-Afroasiatic
root. (1) How many consonants are there in the root? (2) Which conso-
nants of a given stem are radical and which affixal? (3) Does the root
have an inherent vowel? (4) What is the nature of the syllabic peak in
the proto-language? Recent work tends to support the position that the
Afroasiatic root was biconsonantal (see below). This increases rather
than decreases the mathematical possibilities of relationship among
roots. On the other hand, if one can show that the vowel or syllabic
peak is distinctive and reconstructable, a valuable additional criterion
is added.
Some Afroasiatic Etymologies 21

Among recent treatments of these problems one may mention

three in particular: Diakonoff's comments in his survey and articles by
MacDonald and Gazov-Ginzberg .8 Diakonoff says, "A considerable
percentage of triconsonantal verbal roots and practically all the quadru-
consonantal [sic ] (with the exception of reduplicated biconsonantal roots)
either contain the ancient sonants 1, m, n, r or ', i, u and therefore
possibly were originally biconsonantal roots with a syllabic (vocalic)
sonant...'.9 Chadic is mentioned as possibly retaining this earlier
pattern. 10 The stem formatives of Chadic, such as those found in Margi,
are cited as the manner in which the third consonant may have arisen.11
It seems very probable, from these and earlier discussions, that most
proto-Afroasiatic roots were of a single initial-peak-coda pattern. 12
With regard to vowels Diakonoff theorizes that there was only
one vowel plus 'vocalic sonants' (see above), which had both vocalic and
consonantal values. Gazov-Ginzberg argues for a 'monovocalism',
which seems to me to be very much the same as Diakonoff's thesis.
While the latter is well stated, it is perhaps premature to draw such
precise conclusions on the basis of our present evidence. Is it not
worthwhile to investigate the possibility that there were several vowel
qualities in proto-Afroasiatic which are recoverable by comparison?
Can we, utilizing the comparatively stable vocalisms of Cushitic and
Chadic, discover roots with consistent (or reconstructably consistent)
vocalic patterns which are relatable to roots in the other three groups?
This possibility should be throroughly investigated, and it is the purpose
of this paper to offer a beginning in this direction. It may turn out that
a proposal to reconstruct vowels as part of the root differs only
terminologically from the views of Diakonoff and Gazov-Ginzberg.
The examples in List 3 were selected to show evidence of some
consistency in vocalic quality. It has been customary to consider such
consistency in Semitic as a quality of certain nouns. 13 List 3 includes
both nouns and verbs. Vocalic consistency is clearly seen to exist in
both. In Semitic, however, one may regularly expect to find the verbs
cast into the root and pattern mold and the original vocalization obscured.
This is not to say Semitic is totally without evidence or that the original
vocalism survives without change elsewhere. Not at all, but the indica-
tions are that much more has survived outside Semitic.14 The examples
given here do not prove the hypothesis. They do show that there is
sufficient evidence in the extant vocalization to make further investiga-
tion fruitful. They also indicate that future etymological sets should
take the vocalization into account.
List 5 gives a few examples of 'minimal pairs', words where
the vowels are not only consistent enough for reconstruction to reason-
ably include them but where sets of two or more roots having the same
consonants may be reconstructed with different vowels. This kind of
evidence, scanty though it may be, is the best indication that this hypo-
thesis is a step in the right direction.
 22 Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 10, No. 3

List 115

Egyptian Cushitic

1. ' 3 t standard (for cult objects) Som. u19 stick

2. ' z ft falsehood Aw. asd a lie
c 3 great Som. caan well-known
3. (cf. Cohen 58)
4. c m swallow Som. C~b drink (cf. Cohen 60)
5. c q enter Som. geeynayya bring
Mo. gli (yd) enter
Cf. Som. gal entering, Ha. gaalaa
coming of fish from stream into
farm
6. w r y t cloth for straining Som. wbar a yard of cloth
liquids wher white mourning cloth

Chadic

7. c h c stand Ma. hya rise

8. b d t C. b6te emmer Ha. (Sk) a type of grass
batdAyii

List 2

1. ECB Eg. 'wsw balance; C: Ha. 'awnLA weigh; B: T.

aous payer (tribute)(see Vergote 16.b.l).
2. SECB S: Ar. 'afida hurry; Eg. ' fd flee; C: Ha. 'uufb&
took to his heels; B: T. gouf htre frappi de terreur
panique (see Vergote 2.b.2).
3. E C B Eg. 3 m ' mix; C: Ha. (Kt) 18Am.mee a kind of gruel;
B: T. eliem Ptre dissous.
4. S E K (C) S: Ar. 'ana draw near, come; Eg. 'n' bring, C. eine
(cf. C.anai be pleasant); K: Aw. (y)inte he comes; cf.
C: Ha. 'anbb mutual enjoyment of conversation.
5. (S) E K (C) S: Akk. gapdgu to be massive, swollen (of rivers),
gupgu mass (of waters); Eg. ' g p clouds, be overcast;
K: Mo. gu-ppo cloud; cf. C: Ha. gaafii abundance
(cf. Cohen 13).
6. E K C Eg. c n c n chin; K: Som. can cheek; C: Su. g'n
cheek.
7. S E C S: Ar. caqala be intelligent; Eg. C q 3 precise, accurate;
C: Ha. k'alaylcycee examine thoroughly, be expert in.
8. S E K S: Ar. wassa to make a thing strongly, wagala connect,
unite, wusl member of body; Eg. w 9 3 whole, hearty;
K: Mo. wodi(yd) be healed, be well.
Some Afroasiatic Etymologies 23

9. S E K C S: Ar..tall fine rain, Ug. .t I fall (of dew); Eg.

wg nw flood,C.ga1 flood,gosge drip; K: Som.
d'alaalayya melt; C: Ha. s'uula poured out.

List 3

1. S E C pAA *rab- (*k-ab-?). S: Akk. rabai disappear; Eg.

3 b cease; C: Ha. rabA separated.
2. E K C pAA *rab-. Eg. 3b ' desire; K: Som. rabayya
want; C: Su. rabt love, wish (cf. Cohen 6).
3. S E K C pAA *rid-. S: Ar. rad- throw, radda repel,
radasa crush; Eg. 3 d be savage, attack; K: Som.
ridayya throw, shoot; C: Ha. riidi. clutching at.
4. S E B pAA * S: Akk. ilu god; Eg. ' 3 w be old,
3 w praise; B: T. erou be old (see Cohen 490).
5. E K C pAA *wor- (?), *wawr- (?). Eg. w 3 b t high-lying
agricultural land; K: Som. waraabLnayya to water,
irrigate, Mo. worabo lowland (Leslau considers
this connected with Sid. woro down), Bil. w;Nrdbi
river, Ga. waraba bail out water; C: Ha. wbbraa
making ridges after rains for spring plowing.
6. SE K C pAA *wun-. S: Ar. 'awan short period of time; Eg.
w n wt hour; K: Sid. wotd tempo, volta, Om.
wode; C: Ha. wuntt period of daylight, wunad d.
cause to spend day (see Cohen 39. He includes Eg.
n w time and Bil. uwdn time, hour.)
7. S E K C pAA *bur-. S: Ar. bara scrape off; Eg. b 3 hack up
(ground); K: Som. burdrayya/ burbdrayya is becoming
shattered; C: Ha. burbartaa lightly hoed (ground).
Cf. Ar. baira (inf. bawr) lie fallow, bar uncultivated.
8. S E K C pAA *pur-. S: Ar. faraca begin to blossom; Eg.
p r ' go out; K: Som. fur' Ga. furisa sling
open,
(vb.); C: Ha. faree blossom, fartita bursting out
abundantly (see Cohen 366).
9. S E C pAA *pa'- (*pas-?). S: Akk. pYu ax; Eg. p
split, separate; C: Ha. fastO shatter, faskai rip.
Cf. Ar. fasaxa sever, tear. (List 4.8.)
10. S E K pAA *pid'- (*pis'-?). S: Akk. paqdu be wide (?),
Ar. fadS1 be spacious; Eg. p stretch, extend, pgt C.
pite bow; K: Som. fidayya is becoming stretched out.
The Hausa word faad'ii breadth does not support this
vocalization and may be a loan from Arabic.
11. S E K C pAA *mar-. S: Ar. mar-a to milk; Eg. m r libation
trouh, milk jar; K: Som. mar pour (Abraham
24 Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 10, No. 3

pass through); C: Ha. maaraa fragment of calabash

for dipping.
12. S K C pAA *kad'-. S1 S: Ar. qadda to crush; K: Som. gaadayya
attack, ambush. There are other examples to support SE
q K g C k'. C: Ha. kad'tc beat.
13. E K C pAA *tiwn-. Eg. '6w n gore; K: Som. tUn strike',
tunfin hammering (but other forms with /m/, tdmayya
to hammer, etc.); C: Ha. (Sk) t&\naa butted,
tankwiy gore . Reconstruction with / i/ to account
for Eg. /~ . ( This assumes that Eg. /'1/ may go back to
both/k/ and/t/ .)
14. E K C pAA *tir-. Eg. t r time; K: Som. tirinayya to count;
C: Ng. tira, Hi. tire, Mu. tile moon (but others with
ta-, ta-; see Newman-Ma 66). Cf. S: Ar. tlIra go around
(see Cohen 323).
15. S E K C pAA *dul-. S: Akk. dullu forced labor, dullulu to
oppress, attributed to dalalu to be miserable (Heb.,
Aram. to be need; Eg. d 3 ' subdue, d 3 r subdue,
suppress; K: Som. dU"ulayya attack, Bil. dula club;
C: Ha. (Sk) daluntA treat tyrannically, dooltA'ii
compulsion. (cf. Vergote 23.a.28).
16. (S) E (K) CB pAA *dir-. S: Akk. dirratu halter, lash (of whip);
Eg. d r expel, repress; lay down (flooring); C: Ha.
dR'raa leap down, pounce, dirAA bang down, build,
pierce (with spear), dir reach to ground; B: T.
ader presser tras fortement, edir fond. Cf. K: Somrn.
dfri'r fighting, Bed. d'r / dil'r kill (but cf. derdana /
door killer). The Cushitic (and perhaps the Semitic)
does not fit as well as the others semantically. If the
basic meaning is press down or put pressure on, the
Som. dirayya send may possibly reflect the original
meaning .
17. S E K C (B) pAA *dan-. S: Akk. daninu strength, force, violence;
Eg. d n ' hold back, restrain, dam (water), revet
(earthen banks); K: Som. d0an river-bank; C: Ha.
danna~ compressed, dannY closed (door) tightly,
weighed down, excelled, danana very much; cf. B:
T. dounet se tenir rassembl4 sur soi-mb'ne, t~doi'net
crise de soufflements, W. dunni' beaucoup, s-dunnif
au plus. The Berber does not fit the vowel pattern.

Items 15-17 present a number of problems in the assignment of

words from the various branches to the proper original root. Egyptian
has d 3 ' subdue, d 3 r subdue, d r subdue, d n cut off (heads), kill,
Some Afroasiatic Etymologies 25

z n ' cut off (heads), d n ' restrain. It would be possible to assume

that d 3 and d r were dialect variants, d 3 r being a graphic composite
of these, representing the triumph of d r over d 3. It is here assumed
that d 3 and d r were originally separate roots which fell together in at
least part of their meaning. The spelling d 3 r represents this merger.
An alternative is the assumption that d 3 r is a reduplicated form of d 3
(or d r). Reduplicated d r r does, of course, occur, but this is a secondary
reduplication.
Semantically one would assume that Eg. d n kill, cut off (heads)
is related to K: Som. dil killing, beating, Ga. dilli battle. The alter-
nation d n z n ' in Egyptian probably indicates that the root is *tin-
or *tSil-.17 As *$ yields /z/ in Akkadian, the likely cognate in that
language is zenu wrath, hate, zenT to rage. Ar. t n b IV to do wrong,
commit a crime may also go back to this root. In any case, Eg. d n
would not fit into any of the three groups above (15-17). It is possible
that Som. di"rtr etc. belong with d n rather than with *dir-. The assign-
ments of the Egyptian words in items 15-17 seem the most probable at
the present state of our knowledge.

List 4

Newman-Ma Reconstruction Comparisons

1. *g-m-k antelope cf. Eg. I b nw

2. *g-m- beard Eg. gm h t plaited hair
8. *p-s- to break Eg. p s n split(List 3.9)
17. *Z- to come Eg. ' z togo
19. *k-r-m crocodile Eg. k 3 p w crocodile
25. *t- to eat Eg. t bread (Greenberg 27,
see Cohen 315)
26. *(N)g-(r) egg, testicle cf. Eg. h r w y testicles (du.)
cf. 84, 109 cf. S: Akk. e/urCitu Fischlaich
27. *g-w-n elephant Eg. g w (class of bull) (cf. Cohen 1
31. *k-r- fence (cornstalk, reed S: Akk. kairaku aufwickeln,
mat) zusammenfassen, Heb. karik
wicke ln
Eg. k 3 k 3 bush (?), k 3 ' boat
(of Nubian type) (cf. Cohen 192)
33. *w-t- fire cf. S: Ar. wara to kindle
Eg. w 3 w 3 t fire (see Vergote
l.d. 27)
35. *p-r- to fly, leap Eg. p 3 fly (see Cohen 366)
S: Ar. farra fly
39. *()k-r- fowl Eg. c 3 fledglin (cf. Cohen 181)
43. *d-n- to go (away) Eg. d n d n traverse
44. *p-t- to &o (out) Eg. p t p t tread (roads) (see
Calice A 42, Dolg. 3.21)
26 Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 10, No. 3

49. *k-p- hoof cf.

S: Akk. kappu
wig(see
Cohen 176)
50. *d-k- horse cf. Eg. d b hippopotamus (cf.
Cohen 331)
The Hausa plural dawaakii shows the root to be *dawk- (or at least
to have had a medial consonant). pAA VbV may correspond to Ha. /w/,
as in Eg. ' 3 b t t east, Ha. 'ar6waa north.
53. *D-k- to kill cf. Eg. t k k attack (see Cohen
317), S: Akk. d&ku kill
57. *Z-n- to know cf. Eg. s 3 ' be wise
C. sown know (Vergote)
61. *k-r- load S: Akk. kar'iru setzen, stellen,
legen, Ar. karru saddle
Eg. k 3 t work
K: Som. karayya is able to do
63. *s-(w-) meat cf. Eg. s m s Fleischstack vom
Rind
64. *g-m- to meet Eg. gm ' find
65. *b-d- / *b-r- monkey cf. Eg. b n w pavian, b n t y
two baboons
66. *t-r- moon Eg. t r time (list 3.14)
cf. B: T. atri star
67. *d-m morning cf. Eg. d w 3 w morning (cf.
Cohen 358)
70. *s -m- name, ear S: Akk. umu name, Ar. 'ism
Eg. s m ' report, announce
74. *m-r- oil m - r - t)
Eg. rh t oil (m h
77. *s-k- plant7 Eg. b ' mix
K: Som. ~4ibayya pour
cf. S: WS . b q laisser
82. *s-(k-) to put Eg. s t seat (cf. Vergote 16.b.13,
CCohen49)
84. *(N)g-m ram cf.Eg. h n m (ram headed god)
Chnum (see Cohen 126)
86. *t-(r)b- road, path S: Ar. turba dust, earth
Eg. ' trw river, LEg. t r r
wettlaufen (vom Fahren mit
Schiffen gebraucht)
K: Sorm. toraynayya hasten along
88. *p-r- tosay cf. S: Ar. firya falsehood
Eg. p 3w falsehood (?)
90. *n- to see Eg. nw see, look
of. S: Ar. nawa intend (see
Cohen 465)
91. *1- to see S: Ar. ra'a to see
Eg. ' r t eye (cf. Cohen 63)
Some Afroasiatic Etymologies 27

94. *(k-)s-m skin cf. Eg. s m ' w whip (or the like)
105. *F-t- sun, daj Eg. pt sky
109. *(N)g-m- to tire cf. Eg. hm s bow down
112. *k-(r)p- to turn upside down cf. Eg. k f uncover, strip away
113. *s-r- two cf. S *8 n two
Eg. snw y two
119. *(k-)p-k wing see 49

List 5

1.1 SE (C) pAA *qad-. S: Ar. qadd shaj_.; Eg. q d build, q d turn;
C: Ha. kad't spinning (assuming *k'ad- > kad'-), cf. Ma.
gwMd'5 to mix (see Cohen 226),
1.2 S K C pAA *qud-. S: Ar. qadda (u) cut off; K: Som. q6dayya
to dig, Ga. qot- plow, cultivate; C: Ha. k'uudabee cut or
snap off (plant), cf. kood'AA sharpen (cf. Cohen 237).
1.3 S E C pAA *qid-. S: Ar. qidda ruler; Eg. q d t,C. kite (a
measure); C: Ha. k'idth.yaa count, but cf. Su. kwat
count.
2. 1 S (K) C S: Ar. qa99 straw; K: Som. kAs millet (loan from Arabic?);
C: Ha. k'agee~& peeled stems of hemp (cf. Cohen 224).
2.2 S (C) B S: Ar. qifra peel, rind; B: Sh. ks / kis peel off, cut off.
Cf. C: Ha. k'iigiigii a withered, shrivelled gourd.
3.1 S (E) C pAA *yad-. S: Ar. yadd fresh, lush; cf. Eg. c ( be safe;
C: Ha. gaad'aa joyous action.
3.2 S E C pAA *yud-. S: Ar. yu<dda lessening, shortcoming; Eg.
c hack C: Ha. break a bit
g up; gus'iaraa off.

NOTES:

1. This paper was originally presented at the XXVIIth International

Congress of Orientalists in Ann Arbor, August, 1967 and has been revised
for publication. I wish to express my gratitude for the constructive criti-
cism of the participants at the Congress, especially Wolf Leslau, Herrmann
Jungraithmayr and Walter W. Muller. I am particularly indebted to the last-
named. This does not imply their endorsement of the thesis here presented
or the individual etymologies proposed.
This paper is the third of a series. The other two are:
Hausa-Egyptian Establishment, AL 8:1.40-57 (Jan. 1966), Egyptian g
(I 10) amid Afroasiatic (in press).

2. I. M. Diakonoff, Semito-Hamitic Languages, Moscow, 1965,

p. 10.
28 Anthropological Linguistics, Vol. 10, No. 3

3. See Joseph H. Greenberg, Essays in Linguistics, New York,

1957, pp. 40ff.

4. This is not the place for a survey of the present state of the
field. See the articles orn Afr:,asia;tic in the forthcoming volumes 6 and 7
of Current Tretnds in Linguistics, edited by Thomas A.Sebeok. Chadic
will be in Voluminc 7, the others in 6.

5. Paul Newman and Rox'tana Ma, Comparative Chadic: Phonology

and Lexicon, Jornia1 of African Languages 5.218-251 (1966). V. M.
Illi-SvityE, Iz Istori-i Cadskogo Konsonantizma: labialjnye smy~nye,
Jazyki Afriki, Moscow, 1966, pp. 9-34. A. B. Dolgopoljskij, Materialy
po Sravniteljno-Istori&eskoj F]onetike Kugitskix Jazykov: gubnye i
dentaljnye smyinye v naIaljnomn poloenii, Jazyki Afriki, Moscow, 1966,
pp. 35-88,

6. See C. F. and F. M. Voegelin, Languages of the World:

African Fascicle One, Anthropological Linguistics 6:5 (May 1964), pp. 9-13,
281-283.

7. A sequence such as the following is assumed: proto-Chadic

*siBk- > "*iBk- > *iwk- > wk- > Ha. guuk-. (B may be /b/ or /p/.)
This assumes /i/ in the proto-form. Alternatively *giBk->ibk- as in
Ha. (Sk) gibkA sow. Som. 'ub-, if related, would be assumed to have
a secondary /u/ TTee below).
8. John MacDonald, New Thoughts on a Biliteral Origin for the
Semitic Verb, Annual of the Leeds University Oriental Society 5.63-85
(1963-65), Leiden, 1966. A. M. Gazov-Ginzberg, The Semitic Root and
the General Linguistic Theory of Monovocalism (in Russian), Semitskie
Jazyki, Part 2, Moscow, 1965, pp. 200-204.

9. Diakonoff, op. cit., p. 37.

10. "it can be supposed that the structure of the Tchad verbal
root, biconsonantal with a root-vowel, is presumably an ancient feature."
Ibid. p. 38.

11. Ibid. p. 37.

12. This terminology avoids the close definition of C or V in

CVC. See Charles A. Hockett, A Manual of Phonology, IJAL 21, No.4
(1955).
13. Diakonoff (op. cit. p. 29) distinguishes between verbs and
nouns, considering vocalic variation to be characteristic of the verb and
vocalic consistency a property of the noun. Such a distinction is made
by many, if not most, Semitists (see, e.g., Wolfram von Soden, Grundriss
der Akkadischen Grammatik, Rome, 1952, pp. 51-52).
Some Afroasiatic Etymologies 29

14. For an example of an effort to deal with the original

vocalism of the Semitic verb see Otto Rossler, Verbalbau und Verbal-
flexion in den Semitohamitischen Sprachen, Zeitschrift der deutschen
morgenl'ndischen Gesellschaft 100.461-514 (1950).

15. Abbreviations used in the lists are:

Branches: S Semitic, E Egyptian, K Cushitic, C Chadic, B Berber
Languages: Akk. Akkadian, Ar. Arabic, Eth. Ethiopic, Heb. Hebrew
Ug. Ugaritic, WS West Semitic
Aw. Awiya, Bed. Bedauye, Bil. Bilin, Ga. Galla, Mo. Mona, Om.
Ometo, Sid. Sidamo, Som. Somali
Eg. Egyptian, LEg. Late Egyptian, C. Coptic
Ba. Bachama, Ha. Hausa (Sk Sokoto), Ma. Margi, Mu. Musgu, Ng.
Ngizim, Su. Sura, Hi. Higi
Izn. Iznassen, Senh. Senhaja, Sh. Shilha, T. Touareg, W. Wargla
References: Calice Franz Calice, Grundlagen der 9gyptisch-semitischen
Wortvergleichung, Vienna, 1936
Cohen Marcel Cohen, Essai comparatif sur le vocabulaire et la phone-
tique du chamito-semitique, Paris, 1947
Greenberg Joseph H. Greenberg, The Languages of Africa, Bloomington,
1963
Vergote J. Vergote, Phondtique historique de l'4gyptien, Louvain, 1945
(examples from Calice)

16. For *kad'- rather than *qad'- see Frederick W. Geers,

The Treatment of Emphatics in Akkadian, Journal of Near Eastern
Studies 4.65-67 (1945).

17. Cf. Wb 5.463 sub dn: 'vgl. das altere sn'.