Proto-North Caucasian: *q̇_wăjē ( ~ -ĕ-)
Meaning: thing(s), possession(s), household
Notes: Reconstructed for the PEC level. The word is attested also in Darg. (Chir. q̇aj 'thing'), where it is most probably borrowed from Lak. or Avar; however, the Lak., PTs and Av.-And. forms are probably genetically related and not borrowed from each other (Lak. - because of initial labialisation which would be inexplicable if it were an Av. loan; Tsez. forms - because of the semantic discrepancy).
If the original EC meaning was 'house, household', the word could be compared with PAK *ʡʷa (presupposing PWC *q̇́ʷa) 'yard, enclosure (for cattle)' ( > Ad., Kab. ʡʷa). Abdokov (1983, 128) compares the AK root with *q̇_ʷĭndǝ 'wall' (q.v.), which is very dubious for phonetic reasons.
