Comment: Since only Tsakh. and Arch. forms are present, it is impossible to distinguish between reflexes of PL *ƛ̣ and *ḳ; external evidence speaks strongly in favour of *ƛ̣. The Tsakh. form reflects a suffixed *p:äIƛ̣-Vj.
The Tsakh. word also resembles Bezht. Tlad. bäḳi, Gunz. bɔḳi 'sheep-flock; sheep-fold' which are certainly borrowed from Georg. baḳi 'sheep-fold'; in Tsakh. the form baIḳi may also be influenced by Georgian, although phonetically it is quite genuine (cf. the pharyngealisation which does not exist in loanwords).
Comment: Obl. base *p:eḳʷa- (cf. Tsakh. boḳa-). 4th class in Rut. and Shakh-Dagh, but 3d class in Tsakh. Unclear is the devoicing *p: > p in Kryz. and Bud.; otherwise the correspondences are quite regular.
Comment: The root is present only in Rut. (cf. also Ikhr. beɣ-da), but has reliable external parallels. Cf. also the reflexes of PL *p:ak:ʷ q.v. which in part had been influenced by PL *p:eƛ:V-.
Comment: Cf. also Tab. Khiv. beṭ (pointing to *-e- or -ä-). The second component in the Lezg. form is probably the same as rüc/rük 'grass-snake', thus the meaning 'grub, larva' is clearly secondary (-ü- in the first syllable is a result of vowel assimilation).
External data suggest that this root must have contained a medial nasal resonant; while *-n- would have been preserved in Tab. and Lezg., medial *-m- may be reconstructed (since in the position before *-ṭ- it is only distinguished from -0- in Archi).
Comment: Cf. also Lezg. erg. p:eqre-, Khl. p:äIq (erg. p:IäIqra-). The root reveals a metathesis (rather frequent for such structures - cf. also the external data), both of segments and of laryngeal features.
Comment: Cf. also Tsakh. Gelm. e-bi (ebiji-) which is more archaic than the form eb in other dialects. Only Arch. and Ud. preserve the independent root, while other languages reflect a compound *ʔäʔ-p:ij (in Rut. the second part was reinterpreted as a plural marker -bir).
Comment: The root is contaminating actively with PL *p:ic̣ 'navel' (Lezg. p:ic̣, Rut. Khniukh. bic̣, Bud. bɨc̣) but probably should be kept distinct historically. The same root probably underlies Tsakh. ḳɨ-bɨč̣i 'boil, furuncle' (although the first component is not clear).
