Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/s-mrul

This Proto-Sino-Tibetan 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.

From *s- (animal prefix) + *b/m-rul ("snake". Might be related to the root *m-b-ruŋ/*m-b-ruk "dragon").

• Proto-Sino-Tibetan: ?
  • Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *s-b/m-ruːl (Matisoff, STEDT); *b-ruːl (Benedict, 1972; Weidert, 1987)

*s-mrul

1. snake

• Old Chinese: 虺 < 虫 /*r̥ujʔ/ (dial. *r̥- > x-) (B-S), /*ŋ̊lulʔ/ (ZS) ("pit viper; snake-brood")
  • Middle Chinese: 虺 (hʉiX)
    • Modern Mandarin
      • Beijing: 虺 (huǐ), /xu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴/
    • Cantonese
      • Guangzhou: 虺 (wai²), /wɐi̯³⁵/
    • Min Nan

      Hokkien: 虺 (húi), /hui⁵³/

      Teochew: 虺 (hui²) /hui⁵²/

• Himalayish
  • Tibeto-Kanauri
    • Bodic
      • Tibetan
        • Written Tibetan: སྦྲུལ (sbrul, “snake, serpent”)
• Greater Magaric
  • Magaric
    • Kham
      • Sheshi Kham: गुल
• Tangut-Qiang
  • Northern Tangut
    • Tangut: 𗀋 (*phio², “snake”)
• Lolo-Burmese-Naxi
  • Lolo-Burmese: *m-r-wəy¹ (Matisoff, 2003)
    • Burmish
      • Written Burmese: မြွေ (mrwe, “snake”)
• Proto-Kuki-Chin: *ruul
  • Khomic
    • Khumi Chin:

      Lemi Chin: bärui

      Khimi Chin: mägui

  • Northern
    • Zou: gul
  • Central
    • Mizo: rûl

• *bəw (“insect, bug, vermin; snake”)
• Chinese: 蛇 < 它 (OC /*Cə.laj/, "snake") – etymology uncertain. Likely arose as a taboo word, from the sense "to crawl, to wind". Confer Proto-Austronesian *Sulaʀ (“snake”).