PROTO: *=HiqwĀ(n)
MEANING: to bear, give birth
COMMENT: The nasal conjugation, preserved in PA and PD, was for some unclear reason lost in PL; it is, however, undoubtedly old, cf. also the HU data: Hurr. χan- 'to give birth, bear' (compared in Diakonoff-Starostin 1986 with PEC *G_Hŏnɨ 'pregnant', but rather belonging here).
The EC-WC comparison (first proposed by Mészáros 1934, 377) seems quite plausible (however, Megr. skua 'child' has of course nothing to do with it - see Shagirov 1, 231). Bouda's (1950, 294) comparison of the WC forms with Georg. meq̇wisi, moq̇wasi 'relative, near one' is much worse both phonetically and semantically. See also Abdokov 1983, 86 (Lezg. χʷa : WC; we should note, however, that other Lezg. forms cited by Abdokov go back to PEC *dwirχE q.v.).
