Number: 2585
Proto-Semitic: *gilaʕ-
Meaning: prepuce, clitoris
Syrian Aramaic: gǝlaʕtā 'praeputium' [Brock 119] (the other meaning is, strangely enough, 'os palmulae')
Arabic: ǯ̌lʕ 'oter, enlever le prépuce (dans la circoncision)' [BK 1 316]
Mehri: gǝlōt 'clitoris' [JM 118]
Jibbali: giẑʕɔ́t 'clitoris' [JJ 75]
Soqotri: note ʕELHA gilɛ̄́ʕmɔti, gilɛ̄́mɔti 'amygdales; ganglions' [SSL 4 88] (according to [LS 110], gelʕémoh 'grain'); if related, the meaning shift must be very exotic
Notes: As a noun with anatomic connotations reliably attested in ARM and MSA only; note a derived verb in ARB.
Cf. ETH EAST: SEL gole, GUR: MSQ GOG gʷäle 'young man who is not circumcised' [LGur 271]; according to Leslau, from OROMO gole.
Note SOQ ʕELHA gilɛ̄́ʕmɔti, gilɛ̄́mɔti 'amygdales; ganglions' [SSL 4 88] (according to [LS 110], gelʕémoh 'grain'); related with a very specific meaning shift?
Possibly derived from SEM *glʕ 'to uncover' (in HBR PB, ARB, TGR, etc., cf. [LGz 189]) implying that what later acquired the meaning 'prepuce' or related meanings in SYR and ARB, and 'clitoris' in MSA (note that clitoral circumcision is a well-attested practice in MSA speaking areas) originally meant 'the member subject to uncovering (=circumcision)'.
[DRS 131]: SYR, MSA
