Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/ʔit
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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. |
Proto-Sino-Tibetan
Etymology
- Proto-Sino-Tibetan: *ʔjit (Coblin, 1986)
- Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *ʔit (Matisoff, STEDT); *it (Benedict, 1972)
There is no single general root for “one” in Sino-Tibetan languages, in sharp contradistinction to the cases of numerals 2-9, for each of which a single etymon overwhelmingly predominates. This root is only found at the periphery of the Sino-Tibetan area and may therefore be quite old. The more common root for “one” is *tjak ~ g-t(j)ik.
Benedict (1972) set up this etymon on the basis of only two forms: Kanawari and Written Burmese, and identified it as cognate to Old Chinese.
Matisoff (1997) posits *-i- ~ -ya- variational pattern in this etymon (akin to *tjak ~ g-t(j)ik (“one”), *gip ~ gjap (“ten”) and perhaps *riŋ ~ rjaŋ (“ten”), op. cit.) and considers this root to be etymologically cognate with *kat (“one”).
Some Eastern Min dialects use 蜀 as the colloquial word for the numeral one, e.g. Fuzhou /soʔ⁵/, Fuqing /θyo⁵³/. Hokkien also has a similar-shaped word, e.g. Amoy /t͡ɕit̚⁵/.
Numeral
*ʔit
| Proto-Sino-Tibetan numerals | |
|---|---|
| ONE | *ʔit *kat *tjak ~ g-t(j)ik |
| TWO | *g/s-ni-s |
| THREE | *g-sum |
| FOUR | *b-ləj |
| FIVE | *l/b-ŋa |
| SIX | *d-k-ruk |
| SEVEN | *s-ni-s |
| EIGHT | *b-r-gjat ~ b-g-rjat |
| NINE | *d/s-kəw |
| TEN | *gip *ts(j)i(j) ~ tsjaj |
| TWENTY | *m-kul |
| HUNDRED | *b-r-gja |
| THOUSAND | *s-tawŋ |
Descendants
- Old Chinese: 一 (*ʔit (B-S); *qlig (ZS))
- (in the oracle bone script)
→ Proto-Hmong-Mien: *ʔɨ (“one”)
(White Hmong (RPA): ib)
- Middle Chinese: 一 /ʔiɪt/
- The template Template:Sinoxenic does not use the parameter(s):
5=il
Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.**:→ Japanese: 一 (いち, ichi)
Korean: 일 (一, il)
Vietnamese: nhất (一)
→ Thai: เอ็ด (èt, “one (used as final digit, as in สิบเอ็ด (sìp-èt))”)
Lao: ເອັດ (ʼet, “one (used as final digit, as in ສິບເອັດ (sip ʼet))”)
- The template Template:Sinoxenic does not use the parameter(s):
- Min
- (in the oracle bone script)
- Himalayish
- Tangut-Qiang
- Lolo-Burmese-Naxi
- Lolo-Burmese
- Burmish
- Written Burmese: အစ် (ac, “unit, one”) (Benedict, 1976, RDWB)
- Burmish
- Lolo-Burmese
