Avar-Andian etymology :

Protoform: *cVrVχV

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: a k. of caterpillar

Avar: caráhoj

Comments: The original form - whatever it was - was distorted in Avar under the influence of folk etymology (the word cará-hoj means literally "fox-dog").

North Caucasian etymology :

Proto-North Caucasian: *c̣_irVχV

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: caterpillar; snail

Proto-Avaro-Andian: *cVrVχV

Proto-Lezghian: *c̣ir(u)χ:(a)

Proto-West Caucasian: *c̣ǝrʁǝ

Notes: The unity of the PL, Avar and Adyg forms seems probable, although phonetic correspondences are violated in an expressive root like this.

Lezghian etymology :

Proto-Lezghian: *c̣ir(u)χ:(a)

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: 1 caterpillar 2 chain, row, line

Lezghian: c̣irʁ 2

Tabasaran: c̣irʁʷ 1

Rutul: c̣iruχ 1 (Mishl.)

Comment: Cf. Lezg. erg. c̣irʁ-ini, Tab. Düb. c̣irʁi 'caterpillar'. The semantic development in Lezg. is easily explainable; there exists, however, also Lezg. c̣arnaχ 'caterpillar' ( < *c̣irχ:-an with a suffix). The words c̣irʁ and c̣arnaχ obviously reflect dialectal mixture, which is rather common for the Lezghi language.

Abkhaz-Adyghe etymology :

Proto-West-Caucasian: *c̣ǝrʁǝ

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: snail

Adyghe: c̣ǝrʁǝ (Shaps.)

Comments: See Kuipers 1975, 21. The word is quite isolated among WC languages; it seems, however, worth mentioning Abkh. a-č̣̌aʁʷa 'line' (if the original meaning was 'caterpillar' - cf. the external evidence, the semantic development in Abkhaz would be just the same as in Lezghian).

Sino-Caucasian etymology :

Proto-Sino-Caucasian: *c̣HírV[ʁ]V

Meaning: lizard

North Caucasian: *c̣_irVχV

Sino-Tibetan: *chaŋ

Yenisseian: *tun- ? [cf. also *čel ~ -r 'mammoth'!]

Burushaski: *hargín

Comments and references : HGC 28. [rather 2 roots - PNC-Bur. and ST - Yen.; for the latter cf. also PAA *sǝʔań ~ *ʔǝsań 'snake']

Sino-Tibetan etymology :

Proto-Sino-Tibetan: *chaŋ

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: lizard

Tibetan: rcaŋs lizard.

Burmese: put-saŋ lizard, saŋh-kjaw skink (earth lizard), saŋh-lip a species of skink.

Kachin: (Mat.) nsaŋ¹-son², kǝsaŋ¹-son² jungle lizard, (H) diŋsiŋ the common house-lizard.

Comments: Ben. 28; Mat. 181.

Yenisseian etymology :

Proto-Yenisseian: *tun-

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: lizard

Ket: tuĺn⁵, pl. tuĺnǝŋ⁵

Yug: tuńɔl⁵, pl. -ɨŋ⁵

Comments: The comparison with Kott. d́era (proposed in ССЕ 215) should be probably abandoned, see under *jVʔra - which is probably observed here in the second syllable (PY *tun-jVʔra). Werner 2, 286 *t^hun'ǝl / *t^hulǝn'.

Burushaski etymology :

Common Burushaski: *hargín

Sino-Caucasian Etymology: Sino-Caucasian Etymology

Meaning: dragon, monster

Hunza: hargín

Nagar: hargín

Comments: Sh. hargín

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