Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-Iranian/wanćás

Proto-Indo-Iranian

Etymology

Of uncertain origin. Though traditionally derived from a Proto-Indo-European *wenḱ- (“roof beam”) and linked to Middle Irish féice (“ridgepole; top, summit, acme”)^[1] (which itself has been linked to Galician banzo (“crossbar”)), more recent analyses of the Irish term derive the latter internally from the unrelated fégaid (“to look at, observe”), based on the apparent original meaning of "opening or roof-window common in ancient Irish houses", placing the traditional comparison with the Indo-Iranian in doubt.^[2]

Noun

*wanćás m

ceiling beam
bamboo

Declension

masculine a-stem
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*wanćás	*wanćā́	*wanćā́, -ā́s(as)
vocative	*wanća	*wanćā́	*wanćā́, -ā́s(as)
accusative	*wanćám	*wanćā́	*wanćā́ns
instrumental	*wanćā́	*wanćáybʰyaH, -ā́bʰyām	*wanćā́yš
ablative	*wanćā́t	*wanćáybʰyaH, -ā́bʰyām	*wanćáybʰyas
dative	*wanćā́y	*wanćáybʰyaH, -ā́bʰyām	*wanćáybʰyas
genitive	*wanćásya	*wanćáyās	*wanćā́na(H)m
locative	*wanćáy	*wanćáyaw	*wanćáyšu

Descendants

Proto-Indo-Aryan: *waṃśás
- Sanskrit: वंश (vaṃśá, “bamboo; roofing beam”)
Proto-Iranian: *wancah
- Shughni: вис (vis, “main roof-beam”)
- Wakhi: was (“ceiling beam”)

References

^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) “vam̆́śá-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎ (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 485
^ Lubotsky, Alexander (2011) “vam·śá-”, in The Indo-Aryan Inherited Lexicon (in progress) (Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Project), Leiden University, pages 549-50

[1] Mayrhofer, Manfred (1996) “vam̆́śá-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎ (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 485

[2] Lubotsky, Alexander (2011) “vam·śá-”, in The Indo-Aryan Inherited Lexicon (in progress) (Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Project), Leiden University, pages 549-50

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