< Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan

Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/s-nəw

This Proto-Sino-Tibetan entry contains reconstructed words 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: *njuɣ (Coblin, 1986)
    • Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *s-nəw (Matisoff, STEDT), *nəw, *nuw (Weidert, 1987), *nuw (Benedict, 1972; Michailovsky, 1991), *nuw(*C) (Coblin, 1986)

According to Schuessler (2007), it may be an area word. Compare for instance Mundari नुनु (nunu, “breast”), Proto-Vietic *ɲuːʔ (“to drink”) and also Proto-Austronesian *nunuh (“female breast”), whence Tsou nunu and Big Nambas nunu (Handel, 2008; Blust, ACD).

Chinese 乳 (OC *njoʔ, “breast, nipple”) could alternatively be the endoactive derivative of 懦 (OC *njo, “soft”), meaning literally “the one which is soft”.

Noun

*s-nəw

  1. breast, nipple
  2. milk

Descendants
  • Old Chinese: 乳 /*noʔ/ (B-S), /*njoʔ/ (ZS) ("breast; to give birth; milk; to suckle")
    • Middle Chinese: 乳 (ȵɨoX)

    • →   Japanese:  乳 (にゅう, ​nyū)
            Korean:  유 (乳, yu)
            Vietnamese:  nhũ

      • Modern Mandarin
        • Beijing: 乳 (rǔ, “breast, milk”), /ʐu²¹⁴/)
  • Himalayish
    • Tibeto-Kanauri
      • Bodic
        • Tibetan
          • Written Tibetan: ནུ་མ (nu ma, “breast, nipple”), ནུ་བ (nu ba, “to suck”), ནུད་པ (nud pa, “to suckle”)
  • Kuki-Chin
    • Central Chin
      • Lushai [Mizo]: hnute (“breast, milk”), nu (“mother, married woman”)
  • Tangut-Qiang
    • Northern Tangut
      • Tangut: 𗨔 (new, /*nɛw⁵⁵/, “breast”)
    • rGyalrongic
      • Situ: (tə)nuʔ
  • Lolo-Burmese-Naxi
    • Lolo-Burmese
      • Burmish
        • Written Burmese: နို့ (nui., “breast, nipple; milk”)
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