Sino-Caucasian etymology : List with all references

Proto-North Caucasian: *mirć(w)Ē ( ~ -ä̆-)

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: knife, sickle

Proto-Avaro-Andian: *mirčV

Proto-Tsezian: *miš:u

Proto-West Caucasian: *bǝč́:ʷa ( ~ p-)

Notes: Correspondences are fully regular (*m- before a following non-nasal liquid yielding *b- in PWC), and, despite the root's not wide representation in EC, its PNC antiquity seems quite probable. Not quite secure is the reconstruction of labialisation in PNC: in PWC we would rather expect a usual dissimilatory delabialisation after a labial. Since the attested Av.-And.-Tsezian forms can go back both to *-ćw- and to *-ć-, we would prefer to reconstruct a non-labialized *-ć- and assume an assimilatory process in PWC.

Avar-Andian etymology :

Protoform: *mirčV

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: dagger

Chamalal: mirča (Gig.)

Bagvalal: miča

Tsezian etymology :

Proto-Tsezian: *miš:u

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: sickle

Gunzib: mišu

Comments: External evidence shows that Gunz. mišu should be kept apart from PTsKh *nišu 'sickle' (cf. in PA the opposition *ničo : *mirčV), although of course the phonetics and meaning of PTs *niš:u could have influenced the Gunzib form.

Abkhaz-Adyghe etymology :

Proto-West-Caucasian: *bǝč́:ʷa ( ~ p-)

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: 1 sickle 2 to cut, hew down (trees etc.)

Adyghe: ʁʷǝpč 1

Kabardian: ʁʷǝbža 1

Ubykh: pč́a- 2

Comments: PAK *ʁʷǝ́-pč:a (a compound with ʁʷǝ- 'metal, iron'). Ub. sing. a-s-pč́á-n. The correspondence PAK *č: : Ub. č́ points to PWC *č́:ʷ. Ubykh also has ʁʷǝpč́á 'sickle', but this can be an Adygh loanword.

See Shagirov 1, 136-137.

Burushaski etymology :

Common Burushaski: *manc̣

Sino-Caucasian Etymology: Sino-Caucasian Etymology

Meaning: axe, adze

Yasin: manc̣

Hunza: manc̣

Nagar: manc̣

Basque etymology :

Proto-Basque: *marč-

Sino-Caucasian etymology: Sino-Caucasian etymology

Meaning: 1 pruning hook (for a vine dresser) 2 tongs, pincers (for harvesting or opening chestnuts) 3 fork 4 forked, cleft 5 prop, strut (for holding weak branches up) 6 machete (large knife)

Gipuzkoan: matxarde 2, matxite 6, (Beterri) matxarda 2, (Andoain) matxar 2

High Navarrese: matxarde 5, matxite 6, (Lezaka) matxarde 2

Low Navarrese: martxite 1, matxarde 2, 4, 5

Lapurdian: matxarde 3, 5

Baztanese: matxarde 2

Zuberoan: matxárde 2, matxite 6

Roncalese: (Uztárroz) matxar 2, matxarde 5

Comments: Bsq > Span. machete. The latter, or the Bsq words above, are not plausibly related to Sp. macho 'sledge hammer, anvil' (< Lat. marculus 'small hammer'), since there is no semantic similarity of 'fork, hook, tong' with 'hammer'. PNC *mirć(w)Ē, with the meaning 'sickle' in Tsezian and Circassian, is semantically compatible, especially, with Bsq martxite 'pruning hook'. For the element *-arde cf. Bsq *śaɦarde 'fork', etc.