North Caucasian etymology : List with all references

Proto-North Caucasian: *ħnǟrqwĔ ( ~ ʕ-)

Meaning: a k. of cereal (oats, barley)

Proto-Avaro-Andian: *ʔinqʷa

Proto-Tsezian: *ʔõχ ( ~ -ʁ:)

Proto-Lak: niIqa

Proto-Dargwa: *niqIa

Proto-Lezghian: *närχIʷ(a)

Proto-West Caucasian: *q́IʷV

Notes: A rather complicated case because of numerous later interloans. Besides all the loans from one language into another pointed out above, it is also not excluded that Av. niχa, Lak. niIq(ʷ)a and Darg. niqIa also were borrowed (in fact, it seems rather probable that both Av. and Lak. forms are early loanwords from Proto-Darg.: since the word seemingly had a short front Auslaut vowel, Lak. and Av. -a is irregular. At least, such a possibility must be reckoned with).

Nevertheless, if we exclude all possible loanwords from one language into another, the root is still there: the Akhv., PTs, PD, PL and PWC forms could not have been borrowed. Thus, the reconstruction of the root for PNC seems very probable. The proposed comparison seems to us better than relating the WC root to EC *mūqV 'barley' (q.v.), see Balkarov 1975, 79, Abdokov 1983, 108; these two authors prefer to compare EC reflexes of *ħnǟrqwĔ with Ad. zantχ(ǝ) 'oats'. The latter is a rather obscure stem, with unclear morphological and phonetic structure (attested also in Svan. zantχ and Osset. zäntχä), and should be better kept apart.

Avar-Andian etymology :

Protoform: *ʔinqʷa

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: 1 oats 2 barley

Avar: níχa 1

Akhvakh: ũqa 2

Comments: Av. paradigm A (gen. níχ-dal; cf. also in Uslar's notation: néχa, néχa-dal, néχa-bi). Within Andian languages the genuine root is preserved only in Akhv. ũqa (cf. also Ratl. ũqa; the MSU recording ũq:a 'barley' is probably faulty). All other Andian forms (Akhv. Tseg., Tlan. niχa, And., Cham., Tind., Kar., Botl., Bagv., God. niχa) are no doubt recent loans from Avar. In Akhv. Magomedbekova lists also North. Akhv., Ratl. niqa 'oats' - this may be either a more ancient loan, or a contamination of niχa and ũqa (note that the MSU recordings list North. Akhv. niχa 'oats' - obviously a loanword). The Av. word was borrowed also in Tsezian languages: Tsez. neχa, Khvarsh., Inkh. niχa 'oats'.

A word oq: 'barley' is recorded for Southern Avar dialects (MSU: Chad. oq, Mikailov: Ants. oq:). Since it can not correspond to Akhv. ũqa, we must suppose that this is a more or less recent loan from some Andian language.

Tsezian etymology :

Proto-Tsezian: *ʔõχ ( ~ -ʁ:)

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: barley

Bezhta: õʁ (Tlad.)

Gunzib: oh

Comments: PGB *ʔõʁ. In Bezht. (prop.) Madieva lists õχ 'barley' (probably a faulty recording).

Lak etymology :

Lak root: niIqa

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: oats

Lak form: niIqa

Comments: Cf. Khosr. niqIʷa id.

Dargwa etymology :

Proto-Dargwa: *niqIa

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: oats

Akusha: niqaI

Comments: Cf. also Ur., Kub. niqaI id.

Lezghian etymology :

Proto-Lezghian: *närχIʷ(a)

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: 1 spelt 2 ground wheat, wheat gruel

Lezghian: neχʷ 1

Tabasaran: nurχI 1

Agul: nirX̀ 2

Rutul: naχIʷ 1

Comment: Cf. also Lezg. Khl. näIχʷ. 3d class in Rut.

Abkhaz-Adyghe etymology :

Proto-West-Caucasian: *q́IʷV

North Caucasian etymology: North Caucasian etymology

Meaning: 1 millet 2 barley

Abkhaz: á-χʷʒ 1

Abaza: qʷʒǝ 2

Adyghe: ħa 2

Kabardian: ħa 2

Ubykh: χʷa 2

Comments: PAK *qʷǝ-ʒ́ǝ (a compound with *-ʒ́V 'grain'; cf. also Bz. á-χʷʒ́); PAK *ħa. The correspondence PAT *qʷ : PAK *ħ : Ub. χʷ points to PWC *q́Iʷ.