Proto-North Caucasian: *=[i]swV
Meaning: to touch, to take
Notes: The etymology seems satisfactory, although there are some unclear points. Cf. also Urart. ašj- 'to capture' (see Diakonoff-Starostin 1986, 36). Perhaps it would be better to reconstruct *-ǝ- as the main vowel (and to consider *-i- in PL as a later Ablaut grade). Since the meaning "to touch" occurs in EC languages, the comparison with PWC *śV (*šV) seems plausible, although loss of labialisation in PWC is still to be explained (there are several cases like that among verbal roots).
