Proto-North Caucasian: *χarVcwV / *caχwVrV
Meaning: spider
Notes: The root is expressive and subject to irregular changes (metatheses etc.), therefore the reconstruction is rather tentative. Some other EC forms can be regarded also as very irregular reflexes of the same root: cf. PD *qisqa (Ak. qisqa, Chir. qisqa-ne etc.), Bezht. (Khaid.) kala-ʁasq̇i (with further transformations: Gunz. kɔlɔq̇i / halaki) 'spider'; see also comments to Andian and Lezghian reflexes.
Despite all these difficulties (rather expected in a word meaning 'spider'), the root seems more or less reliably reconstructable for PNC.
