Proto-North Caucasian: *nV̄rswĀ
Meaning: cucumber
Notes: Lak. and And. have suffixed forms (in Andian reinterpreted under the influence of folk-etymology, see above); nevertheless, all the forms correspond rather well to each other, and the PNC antiquity of the root seems quite probable. The root is widely represented in other Caucasian languages (Georg. neswi 'melon' - later borrowed in Gunz. neso id., Balk. naša, narša 'cucumber', Osset. nas / nasä 'pumpkin') - but all those forms are most probably North Caucasian loanwords (none of them can explain the appearance of -r- in PN). See the discussion in Shagirov 1, 935, Abayev 1973, 161.
