Reconstruction:Proto-Afroasiatic/labiʔ-

This Proto-Afroasiatic 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-Afroasiatic

Etymology

Possibly related to Proto-Afroasiatic *lib- (“heart”)^[1] due to the idea of strength.

Noun

*labiʔ-^[2]

lion

Descendants

Proto-Semitic: *labiʔ-
- East Semitic:
  - Akkadian: 𒆷𒁍𒌝 (lābum)
  - Eblaite: 𒊊 (labʾum)
- West Semitic:
  - Central Semitic:
    - Arabic: لَبُؤَة (labuʔa, “lioness”)
    - Northwest Semitic:
      - Amorite: 𒆷𒁀 (la-ba), 𒆷𒁀𒀀 (la-ba-a /⁠*labaʾa⁠/, given name, literally “lioness”)
      - Aramaic:
        Imperial Aramaic: 𐡋𐡁𐡀 (lbʾ)
      - Canaanite:
        Hebrew: לָבִיא (laví, lāḇîʾ)
        → Egyptian: rwꜣbw
        Late Egyptian: rby
        Coptic: ⲗⲁⲃⲟ (labo)
        →? Egyptian: rbw (“Libu”)
      - Ugaritic: 𐎍𐎁𐎜 (lbủ /⁠labiʾu⁠/)
  - Old South Arabian:
    - Sabaean: 𐩡𐩨𐩱 (lbʾ)
Chadic:
- Cibak: ˀalvàri
- Gude: lìvàrà
- Huba: lɛ̄vàrí
- Hwana: lìfārì
- Kofa: lìvɛ̀ri
- Mafa: laval
- Margi: ḥalivàr̃ì
- Mwaghavul: rəḅəl
- Somrai: lārbə́
Cushitic:
- Afar: lubak
- Baiso: luban
- Jiiddu: libááhu
- >? Oromo: leenci
- Saho: lubak
- Somali: libaax

References

^ So A. Murtonen (1989) “LBʾ”, in Hebrew in Its West Semitic Setting, Part I, Section Bb, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 243
^ “Though all these forms can hardly be left without attention, the wide variety of hypothetic fossilized suffixes makes the common Afrasian reconstruction problematic.” Militarev, Alexander, Kogan, Leonid (2005) “*labVˀ-”, in Semitic Etymological Dictionary, volume II: Animal Names, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, →ISBN, page 197, Nr. 144

[1] So A. Murtonen (1989) “LBʾ”, in Hebrew in Its West Semitic Setting, Part I, Section Bb, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 243

[2] “Though all these forms can hardly be left without attention, the wide variety of hypothetic fossilized suffixes makes the common Afrasian reconstruction problematic.” Militarev, Alexander, Kogan, Leonid (2005) “*labVˀ-”, in Semitic Etymological Dictionary, volume II: Animal Names, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, →ISBN, page 197, Nr. 144

[1]

[2]