Reconstruction:Proto-Yoruboid/ɔ́-bɪ̃̀rɪ̃
Proto-Yoruboid
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editThe etymology is uncertain. The /b/ root exists in several words relating to women, including, *ò-bò (“vagina”) and *á-bo (“female”), and may be related to *bí (“to give birth to”). The root *rɪ̃ also exists in the reconstructed word for man, *ɔ́-kʊ̃rɪ̃, and its similarity with the root *ɔ́-nɪ̃, suggests that *rɪ̃ may simply be a variation of nɪ̃ (/n/ and /r/ are known to be allophonic in Yoruboid languages). Thus, Akinkugbe 1976 suggests a reconstruction combining a /b/ termed root for woman, and person, like *á-bo (“female”) + *ɔ́-nɪ̃ (“person”), literally “female person”, with changing of vowel initial roots. Compounds of this type are known to occur in some other Niger-Congo languages.
Pronunciation
editNoun
edit*ɔ́-bɪ̃̀rɪ̃