Proto-North Caucasian: *ʔwăχ_wV
Meaning: bottom, lower part; behind
Notes: Reconstructed for the PEC level. The root has no class prefixes in PN, and their traces in PTs are probably secondary (initial *ʔw reinterpreted as the animated class marker). Medial *-χ- in PTs is not quite regular (we would rather expect -χ:- or -ʁ:-): this is possibly due to contamination with another EC root, *ʡĭnGwV̆ 'heel, back' (q.v.).
The root is sometimes hard to distinguish from *-ǝ̆χA 'below' (q.v.), but they are opposed at least in PN and PA and should be kept separate.
