Proto-North Caucasian: *jeṭal-
Meaning: to tie, bind; untie
Notes: The semantic change 'to bind' > 'to gather' is natural, and the etymology seems satisfactory. One can also compare Av. baṭárhin 'woollen belt, strap' (although the morphological structure of this derivate is not quite clear). See Abdokov 1983, 126-127 (citing also an Av. verb b-uṭine 'to be tied' which we were unable to identify).
