COMMENT: One of several PEC nouns with changing class prefixes. It also served as the root of PEC *=ăʕwV- (often with suffixes *-ăʕwV-rV- or *-ăʕwV-lV-) 'sharp' ( > PN *ʕi-ri-, Av. -eʕé-ra-, PA *-aʔV(-rV)-, Lak. =ajiI-l-, PL *ħV-rV-).
Cf. also HU: Hurr. awǝ,ajǝ 'face, front', Urart. ajǝ 'before' (see Diakonoff-Starostin 1986, 64; we must add that the HU root can actually reflect a merger of PEC *=ăɦwV 'face' and *ʔwɨ- 'before, in front' q.v.).
