North Caucasian etymology :

Proto-North Caucasian: *mä̆ɦnɨ̄ (~-ū)

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: brain, head

Proto-Nakh: *min-

Proto-Avaro-Andian: *minʔa-r

Proto-Lak: naI

Proto-Dargwa: *meħa

Proto-Lezghian: *mahI

Notes: Reconstructed for PEC. Correspondences are regular.

Nakh etymology :

Proto-Nakh: *min-

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: occipital bone, cervical vertebra

Chechen: min-däʕaχk

Comments: (däʕaχk "bone").

Avar-Andian etymology :

Protoform: *minʔa-r

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: head

Andian language: mijar

Akhvakh: mina

Tindi: minar (Akn.)

Karata: minar (Anch., Tok.)

Comments: Cf. also And. (Gudava) mĩjari, Akhv. Tseg. mirar, Ratl. milar.

Lak etymology :

Lak root: naI

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: brain

Lak form: naI

Comments: Lak. n- is probably secondary, cf. Bartkh. maI- in maI-lagan 'head is going round'.

Dargwa etymology :

Proto-Dargwa: *meħa

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: brain

Akusha: meħe

Chiragh: maʕ

Comments: Cf. also Ur. maħa, Kait. maʕ, Kub. mā (maʔa), Kharb. meħa.

Lezghian etymology :

Proto-Lezghian: *mahI

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: 1 brain 2 marrow

Tabasaran: maʔ

Rutul: majä

Tsakhur: mahI

Archi: maj

Udi: maI

Comment: For the obl. base cf. Tsakh. mahIɨ-. 3d class in Rut., Tsakh., 4th class in Arch. A similar root exists in Turkic languages, but the possibility of borrowing is excluded (first, because the root has secure correspondences in other Dagestanian languages; second, because in Turkish and Azeri - the possible source of borrowing - the word sounds bejin).

Sino-Caucasian etymology :

Proto-Sino-Caucasian: *mV́̆ɦnū ~ *nV́̆ɦmū

Meaning: brain; head

Borean etymology: Borean etymology

North Caucasian: *mä̆ɦnɨ̄ (~-ū)

Sino-Tibetan: *nūH / *nūk

Yenisseian: *dɔʔŋ

Basque: *mune

Comments and references : HGC 24, WFR 66, LV B20, LDC 17, BCD 39.

Sino-Tibetan etymology :

Proto-Sino-Tibetan: *nūH / *nūk

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: brain

Chinese: 腦 *nūʔ (~-āwʔ) brain.

Burmese: uh-hnauk the brain, LB *(s)-nukx.

Kachin: nuʔ³ the brain.

Comments: Trung u¹-nǝ̆ʔ¹; Pwo nŭʔ, Sgaw nuʔ. Ben. 144, 150; Mat. 201. Here probably also: Mikir nu, Karen *noŋ.1B 'horn'. Cf. PAN (Form.) *punuq 'brain' (Sag. 2; probably < ST).

Chinese characters :

Character: 腦

Modern (Beijing) reading: nǎo

Preclassic Old Chinese: nūʔ (~ -āwʔ)

Classic Old Chinese: nū́

Western Han Chinese: nǝ̄́w

Eastern Han Chinese: nǝ̄́w

Early Postclassic Chinese: nǝ̄́w

Middle Postclassic Chinese: nā́w

Late Postclassic Chinese: nā́w

Middle Chinese: nấw

English meaning : brain [L.Zhou]

Russian meaning[s]: 1) голова; 2) мозги; 3) рассудок, ум

Comments: For *n- cf. Xiamen, Chaozhou, Jianou nau³, Fuzhou nɔ³.

Sino-Tibetan etymology: Sino-Tibetan etymology

Dialectal data: Dialectal data

Radical: 130

Four-angle index: 1910

Vietnamese reading: não

Jianchuan Bai: no1

Dali Bai: nü1-

Bijiang Bai: nü1-

Chinese Dialects :

Number: 1702

Chinese etymology: Chinese etymology

Character: 腦

MC description : 效開一上皓泥

ZIHUI: 5207 1322

Beijing: nau 2

Jinan: nɔ 2

Xi'an: nau 2

Taiyuan: nau 2

Hankou: nau 2

Chengdu: nau 2

Yangzhou: nɔ 2

Suzhou: nä 32

Wenzhou: nз 22

Changsha: nau 2

Shuangfeng: nǝ 2

Nanchang: lau 2

Meixian: nau 2

Guangzhou: nou 22

Xiamen: lo 2 (lit.); naũ 2

Chaozhou: nau 21

Fuzhou: nɔ 2

Shanghai: nɔ 32

Zhongyuan yinyun: nau 2

Yenisseian etymology :

Proto-Yenisseian: *dɔʔŋ

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: brain

Ket: dɔʔŋ / dōŋ

Yug: dɔʔŋ

Kottish: -naŋ in kō-naŋ 'brain'

Comments: ССЕ 223. Werner 1, 206. There also exists a common Yenisseian compound *goʔ-nɔʔŋ 'brain' (for the first part see *goʔ), where we have -n- - obviously original (with *n- > *d- later). Cf. the above Kott. word = Ket. (Werner 1, 440) kóńeŋ 'Knochenmark aus mehreren Knochen'. The same second component *-nɔʔŋ is also reflected in Yug kʌ́jga-nɨŋ 'head brain' (with secondary singulative back-formation kʌ́jgan), see Werner 1, 460, 461.

Basque etymology :

Proto-Basque: *mune

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: 1 marrow 2 pith 3 brain 4 sap 5 germ, sprout

Bizkaian: muin, muiñ, min 5

Gipuzkoan: muin, muiñ, mun 1, 4

High Navarrese: muin, muiñ 1, 3, 4

Low Navarrese: muin 1, 3, (Garazi) mun 1, 2

Salazarese: muin 1, 2

Lapurdian: muin, mun 1, 4

Baztanese: muiñ 1, 2, 3

Comments: Per Mitxelena (1961) and Trask (1995) this word and *hune (q.v.) are "regional variants" of the same word, and suggest Schuchardt's derivation from Lat. fune- 'rope'. Since both words can coexist in the same dialect (e.g., BZK un 'marrow, pith' vs. muin 'germ, sprout'; SAL un-ak 'brains' vs. muña 'marrow, pith') we think the words are of distinct origin (PSC*hwĭʔnV, *mV̆́ɦnū, resp.), but there has been phonetic and semantic blending.

Long-range etymologies :

Borean (approx.) : MVNV

Meaning : brain

Eurasiatic : *mVŋV

Afroasiatic : *mVn- 'forehead' (East Cush., ? Central Chad.)

Sino-Caucasian : *mV́̆ɦnū ~ *nV́̆ɦmū

African (misc.) : Cf. Bantu *-bòŋgó 'brain'?

Reference : ND 1425 (partially).

Nostratic etymology :

Eurasiatic: *mVŋV

Meaning: brain

Borean: Borean

Altaic: *majŋi

Dravidian: *manḍ- 'skull, head'

References: ND 1446 reconstructs *mAnṭV 'jaw, skull, chin' based on Drav. and IE *ment-, but Drav. is closer semantically to PA (for IE *ment- see *mVńV-). The position of Sam. *munt/coy- 'beard' is unclear (perhaps unrelated to any of the roots).

Altaic etymology :

Proto-Altaic: *màjŋì

Nostratic: Nostratic

Meaning: temple, forehead, ear

Russian meaning: висок, лоб, ухо

Turkic: *bejŋi

Mongolian: *maŋlai

Japanese: *mìmì

Comments: Лексика 195-196.

Turkic etymology :

Proto-Turkic: *bejŋi

Altaic etymology: Altaic etymology

Meaning: brain

Russian meaning: мозг; вместилище разума

Old Turkic: meji, meŋi (OUygh.)

Karakhanid: meŋi (MK, KB)

Turkish: bejin

Tatar: mi

Middle Turkic: miji (MA), mejn (Sangl.)

Uzbek: mija

Uighur: miŋä

Azerbaidzhan: bejin

Turkmen: bejni, mejni

Khakassian: mī

Shor: mī-s

Oyrat: mē

Halaj: mein

Chuvash: mimǝ

Yakut: mejī

Dolgan: meńī 'head'

Tuva: mē

Tofalar: mǟ

Kirghiz: mē

Kazakh: mɨj

Noghai: mɨj

Bashkir: meje

Balkar: mije

Karaim: miji

Karakalpak: mij

Kumyk: miji

Comments: VEWT 70, EDT 348-349, ЭСТЯ 2, 106-107, TMN 4, 35, Лексика 195, Stachowski 178. Turk. > MMong. mije, miji (Щербак 1997, 105).

Mongolian etymology :

Proto-Mongolian: *maŋlai

Altaic etymology: Altaic etymology

Meaning: forehead

Russian meaning: лоб

Written Mongolian: maŋlai, maŋnai (L 527)

Middle Mongolian: maŋlai (HY 45, SH), man

Khalkha: maŋlai, magnaj

Buriat: manlaj, magnaj

Kalmuck: maŋnǟ

Ordos: mǟŋlǟ, maŋnǟ

Dongxian: manlǝu

Dagur: mangil (Тод. Даг. 153)

Shary-Yoghur: maŋlī

Monguor: maŋlī (SM 232), manlǝi

Comments: KW 257, MGCD 475. Mong. > Chag. maŋlai etc. (VEWT 327, TMN 1, 502, Щербак 1997, 206; Yak., Dolg. maŋnaj, see Kaɫ. MEJ 15, Stachowski 176).

Japanese etymology :

Proto-Japanese: *mìmì

Altaic etymology: Altaic etymology

Meaning: ear

Russian meaning: ухо

Old Japanese: mjimji

Middle Japanese: mìmì

Tokyo: mimí

Kyoto: mímì

Kagoshima: mimí ( = míŃ)

Nase: mìŃ

Shuri: mímí

Hateruma: mìši_̀kùrùmíN

Yonakuni: mìn-tàFù; mìmbùrù 'head'

Comments: JLTT 478. Cf. Yon. mìmbùrù 'head'.

Dravidian etymology :

Proto-Dravidian : *manḍ- (?)

Meaning : 1 bowl, jar 2 skull, head

Nostratic etymology: Nostratic etymology

Proto-South Dravidian: *manḍ-ai

South Dravidian etymology :

Proto-South Dravidian : *manḍ-ai

Meaning : bowl; skull, head

Dravidian etymology: Dravidian etymology

Tamil : maṇṭai

Tamil meaning : mendicant's begging bowl, earthen vessel, head, skull, cranium, brainpan, top portion as of palms, a standard of measure

Malayalam : maṇṭa

Malayalam meaning : skull; similar objects

Kannada : maṇḍe

Kannada meaning : head

Kannada derivates : (Hav.) maṇḍage a big jar

Kodagu : maṇḍe

Kodagu meaning : head

Tulu : maṇḍè

Tulu meaning : large earthen vessel, skull, head

Proto-Nilgiri : *manḍä

Miscellaneous : KOR (M) maṇḍa, (O, T) manḍe head

Number in DED : 4682

Nilgiri etymology :

Proto-Nilgiri : *manḍä

Meaning : head

South Dravidian etymology: South Dravidian etymology

Kota : maṇḍ

Toda : maḍ

Number in DED : 4682

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