North Caucasian etymology : List with all references

Proto-North Caucasian: *ṗVsV

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: orphan

Proto-Avaro-Andian: *bVs(:)-

Notes: The root is well known in WC languages, but within EC preserved only in Avar as an archaism. See Абдоков 1983, 141.

Avar-Andian etymology :

Protoform: *bVs(:)-

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: orphan

Avar: bes-da-la=

Comments: The stem besdal is also used adverbially (e.g. besdal harize 'to become an orphan, lose one's parents' etc.). Known Andian forms (Kar. bes:tala=, God. besdal) are most probably borrowed from Avar.

Abkhaz-Adyghe etymology :

Proto-West-Caucasian: *ṗVśV ( ~ -š-)

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: step-relative

Abkhaz: -psa

Abaza: -psa

Adyghe: -ṗʷas

Kabardian: -ṗas

Comments: PAT *-pǝśa (cf. Bzyb. -pśa), used in compounds: Abkh. án-psa 'step-mother', áb-psa 'step-father', Abaz. an-psa, ab-psa; pa-psa 'step-son'. PAK *-ṗasǝ (also used in compounds: Ad. nǝ-na-ṗʷas, Kab. āna-na-ṗas 'step-mother', Ad. tǝ-na-ṗʷas, Kab. āda-na-ṗas 'step-father'). The PAK form is impossible to separate from PAT *-pǝśa, thus we can not accept Abitov's and Shagirov's treatment of the AK morpheme as compound ("sitting instead of"), see Shagirov 1,61, as well as the derivation of PAT *-pǝśa from the verb *pǝśaxǝ- (Abkh. a-psáχ-ra, Bzyb. a-pśáx-ra, Abaz. psaχ-ra) 'to change' (Shakryl 1968, 37). The latter explanation should be rejected also for phonetic (accentological) reasons. Abdokov (1983, 141) also rejects PAK *-ṗasǝ as a compound, adducing instead Kab. bǝfa ( < *bǝsʷa) in bǝfa-q:ʷa 'step-son', bǝfa-pχʷ 'step-daughter': however, the source of these words is unknown to us.

Sino-Caucasian etymology :

Proto-Sino-Caucasian: *ṗVsV

Meaning: widow, orphan

North Caucasian: *ṗVsV

Yenisseian: *bǝs-

Burushaski: ? *wesóro

Yenisseian etymology :

Proto-Yenisseian: *bǝs-

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: widow / widower; orphan

Ket: bʌssem 'widow', bʌśśǝĺ-git 'widower'

Yug: bʌssem 'widow'

Kottish: paš-ūp-še 'orphan, widow, widower'; Ass. pašup jali 'stepson'

Arin: pas 'slave', bi-pas '(my) servant', bi-pašša '(my) servant (fem.)'

Comments: ССЕ 209. The same root is present as the second component in Ket. op-pas 'stepfather', am-mas 'stepmother'; Yug fɨp-pas 'stepson', fun-nas 'stepdaughter'. With an alternation -s- > -j- the same root can be discovered in Ket. bʌjbǝ⁵, bʌj-ɣit⁵, pl. bʌj-ɣit⁶ 'orphan', Yug. bʌjbǝ⁵ id. The latter form is probably etymologically identical to Kott. paš-ūp: both represent an irregular transformation of the PY compound *bǝs-pɨʔb "orphan" + "son". This makes Y. Helimski's (КС 240) idea of bʌjbǝ⁵ being borrowed from Sam. *jVjwA 'orphan' less probable (rather, we should think of the opposite direction of borrowing - from a comparatively late form *bǝjbV, with a change *b > w and assimilation *wVjwA > *jVjwA already in Samoyed). Werner 1, 154, 155 (apparently not noticing the obvious connection of the variants bʌs- and bʌj- in Ket).