PROTO: *ʔarf- (?)
MEANING: 'elephant'
Гульфей: ʔàrfǝ̀ [T 2001: 6]
Куссери: ʔàrvǝ̀y [T 2001: 6]
Афаде: ʔárfǝ́y 'elephant', Makeri ʔàrfǝ̀w [T 2001: 6]
NOTES: Both Blazek (Blaz. Eleph., 198) and Porkhomovsky (Porkh., 34-35) unite these forms with Buduma ambu, Log. nevi (Blazek with reservations), Ngala anwe, etc., which is difficult to prove because of markedly irregular reflexes; Blazek reconstructs *ʔarbu/i (not convincing since *-b- in Kotoko group does not yield -f-), and Porkhomovsky, *VrVpV; according to Stolbova's correspondences (Stolb. 1996, 99), rather <*-f-.
