Semitic etymology : Query result

Number: 2211

Proto-Semitic: *ṣibʕ-(at-), *ʔV-ṣbaʕ- {} *c̣ibʕ-(at-), *ʔa-c̣ibaʕ-

Afroasiatic etymology: Afroasiatic etymology

Meaning: finger

Akkadian: neṣbettu [CAD n2 190], [AHw 782].

Found in one LL where it is equated to ubānum. Considered a W. SEM loan without definite source [CAD] or a derivate from ṣabātu 'to catch' [AHw]. Note that if a loanword, ne- prefixation is difficult to explain, while if a genuine AKK word, it can be regarded as a prefix *ma- (on which see Introduction) which regularly shifts to na- (> ne- because of *-ʕ) if one of the root consonants is a labial

Eblaitic: iš-ba-um, ìsa-ba-um, iš₁₁-ba-h_um /ʔiṣbaʕum/ [Kr 18; Bl E No. 20]

Ugaritic: ʔ^uṣbʕ 'dedo; garra' [DLU 55]

Hebrew: ʔäṣbaʕ [KB 81]

Aramaic: OFF ʔṣbʕ [HJ 98].

Also ṣbʕ 'certain measure of length, finger' [ibid. 958]

Biblical Aramaic: ʔäṣbǝʕān (pl. f.) 'Finger, Zehe' [KB deutsch 1673]

Judaic Aramaic: ṣibʕā; ʔäṣbǝʕā, ʔäṣbaʕ 'finger, esp. index finger' [Ja 1259]; [Ja 110]; ʔṣbʕh, det. ʔṣbʕth [Sok 72].

Cf. also ʔädbaʕ (ʔädbǝʕā) 'finger' [Ja 15], with an unexplained -d- (a variant root?)

Syrian Aramaic: ṣebʕā 'digitus (manus et pedis)' [Brock 620]

Modern Aramaic: MLH ṣebʕo 'Finger' [J Mlah 190] HRT ṣepʔa 'Finger' [J Hert 199] NASS sịṗɔ̄ti, suṗɔ̄tị 'finger' [Tser 0173] URM si..ppa 'finger' [R Urmi 102] MMND ṣob_axta 'finger' [M MND 503] GZR ṣabúʔta 'finger' [Nak 85] IRAN sĕpʔa 'un dito' (c.suff. sepʔúh_ 'il tuo dito') [Pen 122]

Mandaic Aramaic: ṣibita, ʕṣba (also 'toe') [DM 355]

Arabic: ʔaṣbaʕ-, ʔiṣbaʕ-, ʔaṣbiʕ-, ʔaṣbuʕ, ʔiṣbiʕ-, ʔiṣbuʕ-, ʔuṣbuʕ-, ʔuṣbiʕ-, ʔuṣbūʕ- [BK 1 1307]

Modern Arabic: NYEM ṣabiʕ, ṣbūʕ, ṣābiʕ [Behnschtedt 669].

Forms without ʔV- are attested in many ARB dialects

Geʕez (Ethiopian): ʔaṣbāʕ(ǝ)t (also 'toe') [LGz 45]

Tigre: č̣ǝbʕǝt [LH 627]

Tigrai (Tigriñña): ʔaṣabǝʕti (pl.) [Bass 580]

Amharic: ṭat (also 'toe') [K 2152] (<*ṣVbʕ-at-), ARG ṭad [LGur 108] (voicing of final -t into -d? Cf. [ibid. XLIV])

Gafat: ṣaṭä 'hand'.

This form quoted [ibid. 108] and in [LGz 45] is questionable both phonetically and semantically (-ṭ < *-t influenced by ṣ-?); the form ṣatä quoted in [LGaf 237] looks phonetically more tenable

Harari: aṭābiñña [LHar 36]

East Ethiopic: SEL ZWY ǝnṭābit, WOL ǝnṭabit [LGur 108]

Gurage: MUH MSQ GOG atebät, SOD aṭabät, GYE aṭayb_ä, ENN END GYE ateyä, END aṭe, CHA EŽA MUH atebät, CHA EŽA atebä [ibid.]

Mehri: ṣ̌ǝbáʔ (also 'toe') [JM 397]

Jibbali: ʔiṣbáʕ [JJ 5]

Harsusi: ḥaṣ̌báʔ [JH 126] (<*ḥa-ṣibaʕ)

Soqotri: ʔéṣbaḥ [LS 70], ṣóbeḥ [ibid. 345].

-ḥ < -ʕ in Auslaut. Cf. also [SSL LS 1451]

Notes: Also 'toe' attested in part of SEM.

Note a meaning shift in ESA: SAB ʔṣbʕ, used to denote fractions, e.g. ʔṣbʕm bn t_mny '1/8'' [SD 140]; MIN ṣbʕ 'doigt' ("exprime les termes d'une unité") [LM 93]. [DLU 55]: UGR, EBL, ARB, GEZ, HBR, ARM, AKK; [KB 81]: HBR, UGR, ARM, ARB, SAB, GEZ, AKK (iṣbittu, not found in AKK dictionaries); [Brock 620]: SYR, HBR, JUD, ARB, GEZ; [LGz 45]: GEZ, ETH, ARB, ARM, HBR, UGR, ESA, SOQ; [LS 70]: SOQ, MSA, ARB, HBR, SYR, GEZ