Reconstruction:Proto-Berber/a-ẓrəf

This Proto-Berber entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Berber

Etymology

A wanderwort, hypothesized to be from a pre-Roman substrate of Iberia. Cognate with Proto-Germanic *silubrą, Proto-Slavic *sьrebro, Basque zilar.

Noun

*a-ẓrəf m

1. silver

Descendants

• Chenoua: aẓref
• Central Atlas Tamazight: ⴰⵥⵔⴼ (aẓrf))
• Tashelhit: ⴰⵥⵔⴼ (aẓrf)
• Tuareg: aẓrəf (Tamahaq, Tamasheq, Tawellemmet)
  • → Hausa: azurfa
• Zenaga: [Term?] (að̣erfi)

References

• Dirk Boutkan and Maarten Kossmann (2001), "On The Etymology of 'Silver'", North-Western European Language Evolution 38, 3-15.