Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵembʰ-

This Proto-Indo-European 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.

Perhaps from *ǵ-né-bʰ-ti ~ *ǵ-m̥-bʰ-énti, nasal infix of a contested root, *ǵebʰ-, possibly found in Proto-Germanic *kaflaz (“jaw, jowl”), German Kiefer (“jaw”), Proto-Slavic *zȍbь (“fodder, oats”), *zobъ (“peck; beak, mouth; goiter”), Serbo-Croatian gȕbica (“snout, muzzle”), Lithuanian žė̃bti (“jaw, jowl”), Avestan 𐬰𐬀𐬟𐬀𐬭𐬆 (zafar^ə, “mouth”), Proto-Celtic *gobbos (“muzzle, snout”) and, much less securely, a presumed Gaulish *gauta (“cheek”) as the source of Vulgar Latin *ga(v)ota. Or, for *ǵnébʰ-, see Old High German knebil, Middle Low German knevel (“short crossbar”), dialectal Swedish knavel (“thin rod”), knabb (“stake”). Conspicuously, however, these are all nouns.

*ǵembʰ-

1. to bite
2. to chomp
3. to crunch

• *ǵémbʰ-e-ti (thematic present)
  • Proto-Albanian: *dzemba (“to ache”)
    • Albanian: dhemb
  • Proto-Balto-Slavic:
    • Lithuanian: žembti
    • Proto-Slavic: *zęti (see there for further descendants)
• *ǵombʰ-éye-ti (causative)
  • Proto-Indo-Iranian:
    • Proto-Indo-Aryan:
      • Sanskrit: जम्भयति (jambháyati)
    • Proto-Iranian:
      • Younger Avestan: 𐬰𐬆𐬧𐬠𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬜𐬡𐬆𐬨 (zəṇbaiiaδβəm, 2pl.impv.mid.)
• *ǵómbʰos (“tooth”) (see there for further descendants)

• Pokorny, Julius (1959) “g̑embh-, g̑m̥bh-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 369