Proto-North Caucasian: *lHīq̇_wĂ / *lHīq_wĂ (~ ɫ-)
Meaning: a k. of bird
Notes: The comparison seems quite plausible, despite some irregularities (usual for bird names in many linguistic families). It is hard to guess which particular bird was denoted by the name *lHīq̇_wĂ in PNC, but most semantic reflexes point to some big or medium-sized bird ("eagle" ~ "jackdaw"/"rook" ~ "pigeon").
For phonetic reasons the PWC root can not be compared with PEC *lɨ̆nƛ_wē 'pigeon', pace Klimov (1967,302), Abdokov (1983, 121); also improbable are the etymologies of Abkh. laħʷa by Lomtatidze (1961, 121) and of PAK *tħar(ǝ)q:ʷá by Shakryl (1968,48-49).
