Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ʔayy-

This Proto-Semitic 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-Semitic

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Pronoun

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*ʔayy-

  1. Used to form questions: which, what, when, where, how, etc.

Inflection

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Descendants

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  • East Semitic:
    • Akkadian: 𒀀𒀀𒌑𒌝 (ayyum, which)
  • West Semitic:
    • Central Semitic:
      • Arabic: أَيّ (ʔayy, which)
      • Northwest Semitic:
      • Old South Arabian:
        • Minaean: 𐩱𐩺 (ʾy, whichever)
        • Qatabanian: 𐩱𐩺 (ʾy, whichever)
        • Sabaean: 𐩱𐩺 (ʾy, which)
    • Ethiopian Semitic:
      • Ge'ez: አይ (ʾäy, which, what)
      • Tigre: አዪ (ʾäyi, which)
      • Tigrinya: -አይ (-äy) (suffixed to interrogatives)

References

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  • Eran Cohen (2019) “The Interrogative Element *ʾayy- in Semitic”, in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft[1], volume 169, number 2, pages 327-342