Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/d-ŋa
Proto-Sino-Tibetan
editEtymology
edit- Proto-Sino-Tibetan: ?
- Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *d-ŋa (Matisoff, STEDT)
Other roots for "tooth": *m-dzjwaj, *s-wa ~ p-wa.
Chinese 牙 may alternatively be regarded as a loan from an Austroasiatic language (Norman / Mei, 1976; Norman, 1988). Compare Vietnamese ngà (“ivory”), Mon လ္ၚာပ် ((tə)ŋèp, “back tooth, molar”) and loanword in Proto-Tai *ŋaːᴬ (“tusk, ivory”) (whence Thai งา (ngaa), Lao ງາ (ngā)). Pulleyblank (1983) believes Old Chinese was the donor.
Noun
edit*d-ŋa