bjt

See also: BJT

Egyptian

Etymology

Heavily disputed. The final -t is usually considered a separate feminine ending in origin rather than a part of the root, but this is not wholly certain. Etymological hypotheses include:

Cognate with Beja wíyu.
From an earlier form *brt, in which case there are a number of mutually exclusive possibilities:
- Cognate with El Molo póruat (“bee”).
- Cognate with Western Rift *baʾara (“bee”) and its descendants: Iraqw baʾārmō (“bee”), Burunge băʾălĭmŭ (“bee”), Alagwa baʾaramo (“fly, bee”).
- Cognate with Mofu-Gudur béber (“horsefly”).
- Cognate with Pévé b̰úr (“honey (?)”)
From an earlier form *blt, cognate with Kulere ʾabyál (“honey”), Mazagway bŏlŏ́m (“honey”), Musey mbulyuma (“honey”), Lele (Chad) bùlò (“hive”).

Several linguists have also proposed an areal connection with Proto-Indo-European *bʰey- (“bee”), noting the existence of a number of parallels between Afroasiatic and Indo-European bee-keeping terminology.