Reconstruction:Proto-West Semitic/ʕigl-

This Proto-West 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-West Semitic

Etymology

Perhaps of Proto-Semitic origin if related to Akkadian 𒀲𒅇 (aggalu, “hinny”) and Eblaite 𒀲𒅇 (aglum, “hinny”).

Noun

*ʕigl- m

1. calf

Descendants

• Central Semitic:
  • Arabic: عِجْل (ʕijl, “calf”)
    • Maltese: għoġol
  • Northwest Semitic:
    • Aramaic: עִגְלָא (ʿiḡlā)
      • Classical Syriac: ܥܶܓܠܳܐ (ʿeḡlā)
    • Canaanite:
      • Hebrew: עֵגֶל ('égel, ʿēḡel, “calf”)
      • Phoenician: *𐤀𐤂𐤋 (*ʾgl)
        • Punic: 𐤀𐤂𐤋 (ʾgl)
    • Ugaritic: 𐎓𐎂𐎍 (ʿgl /⁠ʿiglu⁠/, “calf”)
• Ethiopian Semitic:
  • Ge'ez: እጕል (ʾəgʷl, ʾəgʷəl, “young of any animal, even a human”) (irregular morphological developments and semantically like Aramaic for *ṭalay-)
  • Tigre: እግል (ʾəgəl, “calf”)

References

• Barth, Jakob (1893) Etymologische Studien zum semitischen insbesondere zum hebräischen Lexicon (in German), Berlin: H. Itzkowski, page 18
• Militarev, Alexander, Kogan, Leonid (2005) Semitic Etymological Dictionary, volume II: Animal Names, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 43–46 Nr. 28