Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/būṣ-

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

Noun

*būṣ- m

1. sedge, rush, reed, flax, any fibrous plant in the form of long grass and product thereof

Inflection

Declension of *būṣ-

Case	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*būṣum	*būṣāna	plural stem + *-ūna
Genitive	*būṣim	*būṣayna	plural stem + *-īna
Accusative	*būṣam
possessive forms
1st person	*būṣī / *būṣVya	—	*būṣVni
2nd person m	*būṣVka	*būṣVkumā / *būṣVkumay	*būṣVkum(ū)
2nd person f	*būṣVki		*būṣVkin(ā)
3rd person m	*būṣVšu	*būṣVšumā / *būṣVšumay	*būṣVšum(ū)
3rd person f	*būṣVša		*būṣVšin(ā)
Note: the endings -m and -na are dropped in the bound form, which may also undergo syncopation of an unstressed final vowel where possible. Note: the ending -V before the possessive endings responds to case: *būṣuya for nom. case, *būṣiya for gen. case, *būṣaya for acc. case, etc. Declension of 2sg m. possessive form (your/thy m.) *būṣ- Singular Dual Plural Nominative *būṣuka *būṣāka plural stem + *-ūka Genitive *būṣika *būṣayka plural stem + *-īka Accusative *būṣaka Declension of 2sg f. possessive form (your/thy f.) *būṣ- Singular Dual Plural Nominative *būṣuki *būṣāki plural stem + *-ūki Genitive *būṣiki *būṣayki plural stem + *-īki Accusative *būṣaki

Derived terms

• Proto-Semitic: *biṣbūṣ- (“horsetail, Equisetum spp.”)
  • West Semitic:
    • Central Semitic:
      • Aramaic:

        Jewish Literary Aramaic, Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: בִּטְבּוּט (biṭbūṭ), שְׁבַטְבִּיטָא (šəḇaṭbīṭā) (contaminated with שִׁבְטָא (šiḇṭā, “staff, rod”))

        • Classical Syriac: ܫܒܰܛܒܴ݁ܛܳܐ (šəḇaṭbāṭā) (contaminated with ܫܰܒܛܳܐ (šabṭā, “staff, rod”))
        • → Arabic: بَطْبَاط (baṭbāṭ), شَبَطْبَاط (šabaṭbāṭ)
        • → Hebrew: בְּטְבָּט (b'tbát, bəṭbāṭ), בִּטְבּוּט (bitbút, biṭbûṭ), שְׁבַטְבָּט (sh'vatbát, šəḇaṭbāṭ)
      • Canaanite:
        • Hebrew: בִּצְבּוּץ (bitsbúts, biṣbûṣ), שְׁבַצְבָּץ (sh'vatsbáts, šəḇaṣbāṣ), שְׁבַצְבּוּץ (sh'vatsbúts, šəḇaṣbûṣ) (contaminated with שֵׁבֶט (shévet, šḗḇeṭ, “staff, rod”))
• Proto-Semitic: *būṣīn-
  • East Semitic:
    • Akkadian: 𒄑𒁍𒍢𒅔 (būṣīnnum, “mullein, a plant (Verbascum); wick, lamp”)
  • West Semitic:
    • Central Semitic:
      • Aramaic:

        Jewish Literary Aramaic, Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: בּוּצִינָא (būṣīnā, bōṣīnā, “a young pumpkin; lamp”)

        • Classical Mandaic: ࡁࡅࡑࡉࡏࡀ (būṣīnā, “pumpkin”)
        • Classical Syriac: ܒܾ݁ܘܨܺܝܢܳܐ (būṣīnā, “wick, candle; pumpkin, gourd; mullein”)
          • → Old Armenian: բուծին (bucin, “candle wick”)
          • → Khotanese: 𑀩𑀽𑀰𑀻𑀦𑁃 (būśīnai, “byssus”)
          • → Middle Persian:

            Book Pahlavi script: 𐮱𐮵𐮿𐯍𐮲𐮵𐮰 (𐮱𐮵𐮿𐯍𐮲𐮵𐮰 /⁠bōzīnʾ⁠/), 𐮱𐮿𐯍𐮲𐮵𐮷 (𐮱𐮿𐯍𐮲𐮵𐮷 /⁠buzīnag⁠/, “a kind of cucumber, cintron”)

      • Canaanite:
        • Hebrew: בּוּצִין (butsín, bûṣîn)
• Proto-Semitic: *būṣīr-
  • West Semitic:
    • Central Semitic:
      • Arabic: بُوصِير (būṣīr, “mullein”)

Descendants

• East Semitic:
  • Akkadian: 𒁍𒌋𒋗 (būṣum, “byssus”)
• West Semitic:
  • Central Semitic:
    • Arabic: بُوص (būṣ, “reed”)
    • Northwest Semitic:
      • Aramaic:

        Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: בּוּצָא (būṣā, “byssus”)

        • Classical Syriac: ܒܾ݁ܘܨܳܐ (būṣā, “byssus”)
      • Canaanite:
        • Hebrew: בּוּץ (buts, bûṣ, “byssus”)
          • → Ancient Greek: βύσσος (bússos, “flax, linen, cotton, silk”), βῠ́σσᾰ (bússa)
            • → Ge'ez: ቢሶስ (bisos), ብሶስ (bəsos), ቡሱስ (busus), በሱስ (bäsus), ብሲስ (bəsis), ብሱስ (bəsus), ቢሶን (bison, “fine green linen”)
              • ⇒ Ge'ez: ቢስንሶ (bisənso, “green”)
              • → Tigrinya: ቢሶ (biso, “green leather, velvet”)
            • → Gothic: 𐌱𐍅𐍃𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌽 (bwssaun)
            • → Latin: byssus, bissus
              • Translingual: Byssus
            • ⇒ Byzantine Greek: βυσσίνη (bussínē)
              • → Arabic: بُزْيُون (buzyūn, “a kind of piece of fine silk for clothing”)
                • ⇒? Arabic: بَزّ (bazz, “cloth”)
• → Old Armenian: *բեեզ (*beez, “fine linen”), բեհեզ (behez), բեհէզ (behēz)
  • → Armenian: բեհեզ (behez)
  • → Old Georgian: ზეეზი (zeezi), ზეჰეზი (zehezi), ზელეზი (zelezi), ზეზი (zezi)
  • →? Arabic: بَزّ (bazz, “cloth”)
    • → Azerbaijani: bəz
    • → Ottoman Turkish: بز (bez)
      • Turkish: bez
      • → Crimean Tatar: böz
        • → Chuvash: пӳс (püs)
      • → Laz: ბეზი (bezi)
      • → Russian: бязь (bjazʹ), безь (bezʹ)
      • → Serbo-Croatian:

        Cyrillic script: бе̏з

        Latin script: bȅz

    • → Old Italian: albagio
      • →? Campidanese: orbaci (either via Old Italian or directly from Arabic)
        • → Italian: orbace
      • →? Logudorese: arvatze (either via Old Italian or directly from Arabic)
      • →? Nuorese: orbace (either via Old Italian or directly from Arabic)
• →? Ottoman Turkish: بوغاسی (boğası, “a kind of twilled high-quality cotton used for garments, or particularly their linings”), بوغاصی (boğası), بوحاسی (bohası) (see there for further descendants)
• → Uyghur: böz (“cotton cloth”)

References

• Leslau, Wolf (1991) Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 110
• Löw, Immanuel (1916) “Schachtelhalm und Schwaden”, in Orientalistische Literaturzeitung (in German), volume 19, number 12, columns 353a–360b