Semitic etymology :

Number: 2580

Proto-Semitic: *nVʕay-(t-) ~ *nayaʕ-

Afroasiatic etymology: Afroasiatic etymology

Meaning: udder, breast (of an animal)

Judaic Aramaic: nǝyāʕā, nīʕā 'fat-tail, rump, breast of an animal' [Ja 906]; nyʕ 'breast of an animal' [Sok 350]

Syrian Aramaic: nāʕā 'pectus' [Brock 434]

Arabic: nuʕnuʕat- (redupl.) 'gésier, jabot (d'oiseau)' [BK 2 1299].

    Cf.a variant root nuɣnuɣ- 'gorge, canal de la gorge; cet endroit du cou du chameau qui remue lorsque le chameau rumine; collier du coq, plumes du cou chez le coq' [ibid. 1303]

Mehri: nǝʔīt 'udder' [JM 278].

    Cf. suff. anǝʕyɛ́t-s 'her udder' [ibid.]

Jibbali: naʕét 'udder' [JJ 179]

Soqotri: nǝ́ʕǝh do. [JJ 179].

    Leslau quotes níʔiḥ 'pis' [LS 254], where -ḥ must reflect -ʕ devoiced in Auslaut

Notes: *nVʕay-(t-) is likely an underlying form in MSA, and *nayaʕ-, in ARM.

    Note a meaning shift in ARB; -u- is difficult to explain from the proto-form.

    [LS 254]: SOQ, MSA, JUD

Afroasiatic etymology :

Proto-Afro-Asiatic: *nVʕay-

Meaning: breast, udder

Borean etymology: Borean etymology

Semitic: *nVʕay-(t-) ~ *nayaʕ- 'udder, breast (of an animal)'

Egyptian: ʕnn.t (pyr) 'part of a body' (?)

Central Chadic: *Vni 'milk' > Vni-m 'breast'

South Cushitic: *nyaʕ- 'breast' 1, 'udder' 2

Notes: Cf. *ʔa-nwan- 'breast, udder'

Egyptian etymology :

Old Egyptian: ʕnn.t (pyr)

Afroasiatic etymology: Afroasiatic etymology

Meaning: 'part of the body'

Notes: The meaning is not definite.

Central Chadic etymology :

Proto-CChadic: *anum (<*num 'to milk') OR *'VnV-m 'milk'(-m - suff. of sg.tantum) ?? =140

Afroasiatic etymology: Afroasiatic etymology

Meaning: 'milk' 1, 'breast' 2, 'Euter' 3

Logone: ́́éni 1 [Luk: num and num eni 'to milk']

Kusseri: ini 1 [Mo]

Afade: eri 1 [Mo](-r- < *n is regular)

Musgu: àním 2 [CLR ], ánum, anem 1, 2, 3 [Luk :45]

Notes: Cf. Buduma num 'to milk' [Luk], Logone num 'plait, milk',num eni 'to milk'[Luk], Daba nīm: 'to tie, to milk'[Lnhr], Margi lǝ m 'to milk, to twist rope' [Hf:138].

South Cushitic etymology :

Proto-South Cushitic: *nyaʕ- @

Afroasiatic etymology: Afroasiatic etymology

Meaning: 'breast' 1, 'udder' 2

Qwadza (Ngomvia): nyaʔati (acc. to HRSC 34, *ʕ-> Qdz ʔ-, *ʔ- > 0)

Ma'a (Mbugu): nyawa

Notes: Heine Yaaku 136

Long-range etymologies :

Borean (approx.) : WVNXV

Meaning : breast, udder

Afroasiatic : *nVʕay- (cf. also *hun-)

Sino-Caucasian : *wHenχ_e (~-a)

Austric : PAN *nunuH 'breast, milk'

Reference : Sag. 4, GE 54 *nuk.

Sino-Caucasian etymology :

Proto-Sino-Caucasian: *wHénχe ( ~ -a)

Meaning: udder; nipple

Borean etymology: Borean etymology

North Caucasian: *wHenχ_e (~-a)

Sino-Tibetan: *nŏH

Burushaski: *boŋ

Basque: *ug-ac

North Caucasian etymology :

Proto-North Caucasian: *wHenχ_e (~-a)

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: udder

Proto-Tsezian: *muʁ:u B (~-ʁ-)

Proto-Dargwa: *burħa

Proto-Lezghian: *χ:Iewa

Notes: Reconstructed for the PEC level. Correspondences are regular (except for a rather frequent phenomenon of metathesis in PL and Gin.).

Tsezian etymology :

Proto-Tsezian: *muʁ:u B (~-ʁ-)

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: udder

Tsezi: meʁu

Ginukh: ʁomo

Khvarshi: meʁu (Radzhibov)

Inkhokvari: moʁu

Comments: PTsKh *mu_ʁu; the Gin. form is metathesized.

Dargwa etymology :

Proto-Dargwa: *burħa

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: udder

Akusha: burħe

Chiragh: burʕa

Comments: Cf. also Ur. burħa, Tsud. burħi.

Lezghian etymology :

Proto-Lezghian: *χ:Iewa

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: udder

Lezghian: re-ʁü

Tabasaran: χIaw

Agul: X̀aw

Rutul: χIɨw

Tsakhur: χIu

Kryz: ħäwi

Budukh: ħawi

Udi: χIo

Comment: Cf. also Lezg. Khl. re-χü, Tab. Khan. χ:Iäw, Ag. Bursh., Burk. X̀aw, Fit. χIaw, Tp. ʕaw; Tsakh. (Tsakh.) χIo, Gelm. χIʷa ( < *χIewa with reduction; this form points to the PL paradigm *χ:Iewa, obl. *χIewä-). Lezg. reflects a form which may point to former changing class prefixes.

Sino-Tibetan etymology :

Proto-Sino-Tibetan: *nŏH

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: nipple, breast; suckle

Chinese: 乳 *noʔ nipple; milk, suckle.

Tibetan: nu to suck, nud, snun to suckle.

Burmese: nǝwʔ breast, milk, LB *hnǝw(ʔ).

Lushai: hnu-tē milk, breast.

Kiranti: *n[u]

Comments: Kham nwīN; Tsangla nu milk; Trung nuŋ¹ nipple, breast, milk. Sh. 60; Ben. 100; Peiros-Starostin 216. STEDT 189-201 *s-nǝw-[t/n] (with a variant *n(y)u[k/ŋ]). Cf. PAN *nunuH 'breast, milk' (Sag 4).

Chinese characters :

Character: 乳

Modern (Beijing) reading: rǔ

Preclassic Old Chinese: noʔ

Classic Old Chinese: nó

Western Han Chinese: nwá

Eastern Han Chinese: ńwá

Early Postclassic Chinese: ńwó

Middle Postclassic Chinese: ńwó

Late Postclassic Chinese: ńwó

Middle Chinese: ńǘ

English meaning : milk, breast, to feed (a baby) with milk [L.Zhou]

Russian meaning[s]: 1) груди; вымя; сосцы; 2) молоко; 3) кормить грудью; 4) новорожденный, сосунок, детеныш; 5) рожать; высиживать (птенцов)

Comments: For *ń- cf. Xiamen ʒu³, Chaozhou zu³, Fuzhou ü³.

Sino-Tibetan etymology: Sino-Tibetan etymology

Dialectal data: Dialectal data

Radical: 5

Four-angle index: 6906

Karlgren code: 0135 a

Vietnamese reading: nhũ

Chinese Dialects :

Number: 471

Chinese etymology: Chinese etymology

Character: 乳

MC description : 遇合三上噳日

ZIHUI: 0050 0903

Beijing: ẓu 2

Jinan: lu 2

Xi'an: vu 2

Taiyuan: zu 2

Hankou: y 2

Chengdu: zu 2

Yangzhou: lu 2

Suzhou: zü 32

Wenzhou: zi_ 22

Changsha: y 2

Shuangfeng: y 2

Nanchang: з̂ 2

Meixian: ji 3

Guangzhou: jy 22

Xiamen: ʒu 2

Chaozhou: zu 21

Fuzhou: y 2

Shanghai: zü 32

Zhongyuan yinyun: žiu 2

Kiranti etymology :

Proto-Kiranti: *n[u]

Sino-Tibetan etymology: Sino-Tibetan etymology

Meaning: milk, breast(s)

Limbu: nu

Dumi: nim ( < *nu-mV)

Yamphu: nua

Limbu dictionary :

Entry: nu

Kiranti etymology: Kiranti etymology

Grammar: n.

Meaning: 1) breast, nipple; 2) milk

Comments: 1) cf. mǝna-nu, nuse:ʔ 2)\x ku-nu lɔ:n (her-milk exude) She's lactating.

Dumi dictionary :

Entry: nimpho, nim

Kiränti etymology: Kiränti etymology

Grammar: n.

Meaning: human milk

Comments: cf. amlalim, dɨdhɨkwam.

Yamphu dictionary :

Entry: nua

Kiranti etymology: Kiranti etymology

Grammar: n.

Meaning: breast(s).

Burushaski etymology :

Common Burushaski: *boŋ

Sino-Caucasian Etymology: Sino-Caucasian Etymology

Meaning: lower part of a hose; lower bound opening of a hose

Hunza: boŋ

Nagar: boŋ

Comments: Sh. boŋ.

Basque etymology :

Proto-Basque: *ug-ac

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: 1 (female) breast, teat 2 mother's milk 3 step-(-parent, -child) 4 god-(-parent, -child) 5 foster- (-parent) 6 groomsman / bridesmaid 7 master, boss

Bizkaian: ugatz 1, 2, ugaz- 3, ugazaba 7

Gipuzkoan: ugatz 2, ugaz- 3, ugazaba 7

High Navarrese: ugaz- 3

Low Navarrese: ? ugatz 1

Lapurdian: ugatz 1

Baztanese: ugaz- 3

Zuberoan: egüz-3, 4, 5, 6

Comments: In compounds (B, G, AN) ugaz-aita, ugaz-ama, ugaz-[s]eme, ugaz-alaba ‘step-father, -mother, -son, -daughter’; in Z with metathesis of vowels: egüz-áita, egüz-ã́mã, egüts-[s]éme, egüz-alhába, etc.; (B, G) ugazaba ‘boss, master’ < *ugac + *aśa-ba 'ancestor', per Mitxelena. Bsq *ug(a)- = PEC *wHenχa is quite phonetically regular: for Bsq *u- = PNC *wHV- cf. Bsq *urde ‘pig’ (q.v.) ~ PNC *wHārƛ̣wǝ id.; and for Bsq *-g- = PNC *-nχ-, cf. Bsq *lega- ‘gravel’ (q.v.) ~ PEC *ƛ̣ănχwV ‘cobblestone(s)’, and other examples.

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