Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ṯalāṯ-
Proto-Semitic
editEtymology
editPerhaps cognate with Egyptian ḫmtw, as are *ṯamāniy- and ḫmnw.
Numeral
edit← 2 | 3 | 4 → |
---|---|---|
Cardinal: *ṯalāṯ- |
*ṯalāṯ-
Reconstruction notes
editLipiński reconstructs *śalāṯ- to account for the Ethiopian Semitic and Modern South Arabian forms, and posits that the other Semitic languages underwent regressive assimilation of the first radical, but unless this variation was present at the level of Proto-Semitic, it is more parsimonious to assume that those languages underwent dissimilation instead.
Usage notes
editThis number exhibited chiastic concord (gender polarity), in which masculine forms were used to agree with feminine nouns, and feminine forms with masculine nouns.
Inflection
editDeclension of *ṯalāṯ-
Case | m | f |
---|---|---|
Nominative | *ṯalāṯum | *ṯalāṯatum |
Genitive | *ṯalāṯim | *ṯalāṯatim |
Accusative | *ṯalāṯam | *ṯalāṯatam |
Derived terms
edit- *ṯalāṯ-um (nominative absolute)
- *ṯalāṯ-at-um (nominative absolute with *-at- suffix)
- East Semitic:
- Akkadian: 𒐈 (šalāštum)
- West Semitic:
- Central Semitic
- Ethiopian Semitic:
- Modern South Arabian:
- Mehri: śhəlīṯ
- East Semitic:
References
edit- Huehnergard, John (2019) “Proto-Semitic”, in Huehnergard, John and Na'ama Pat-El, editors, The Semitic Languages, 2nd edition, Routledge, →ISBN
- Lipiński, Edward (2001) Semitic Languages: Outline of a Comparative Grammar (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta; 80), 2nd edition, Leuven: Peeters, →ISBN