Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/-ay-

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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Etymology

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Likely cognate with Proto-Berber *-e.

Suffix

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*-ay- f

  1. Used to create feminine forms of certain words.

Inflection

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See also

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Descendants

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Used to form the feminine of *ʕašt- (one); see feminine descendants there for some unproductive descendants.

Productive descendants:

  • West Semitic:
    • Central Semitic:
      • Arabic: ـَى ()
      • Northwest Semitic:
    • Ethiopian Semitic:
      • Ge'ez: -e

References

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  • van Putten, Marijn (2018), "The feminine endings *-ay and *-āy in Semitic and Berber", Bulletin of SOAS 81:2, p. 205–225.