Reconstruction:Proto-Bantu/ìbèdé

This Proto-Bantu 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-Bantu

Etymology

A loanword from an extinct, Sog Eastern Sudanic language, where it referred to pennisetum; compare Ik rébè (“pennisetum”) and Luo bél (“sorghum”).^[1]

Noun

*ìbèdé class 5 (plural *màbèdé class 6)^[2]

(Common Bantu) pearl millet

Usage notes

This term is shared between many Bantu languages, but a single form cannot be formally reconstructed to the level of Proto-Bantu because of historical or linguistic considerations. Bostoen states that it can be reconstructed to Proto-Eastern Bantu with the meaning "pearl millet".

Descendants

East Bantu:
- Northeast Bantu:
  - Kikuyu-Kamba:
    - Kikuyu (E51): mwere
  - Northeast Coast Bantu:
    - Swahili (G42): mwele, uwele
  - Nyasa:
    - Chichewa (N31): maŵere (“finger millet”)
- Southern Bantu:
  - Nguni:
    - Phuthi (S404): emabele (“sorghum”)
    - Zulu (S42): amabele (“sorghum”)
  - Sotho-Tswana:
    - Northern Sotho (S32): mabele (“sorghum”)
    - Tswana (S31): mabêlê (“sorghum”)
    - Sotho (S33): mabele (“sorghum”)

References

^ We Are What We Eat: Ancient Agriculture between the Great Lakes‎^[1], (Can we date this quote?), →JSTOR
^ Entry 122 at Bantu Lexical Reconstructions 3

Bostoen, Koen (2006–2007), "Pearl millet in early Bantu speech communities in Central Africa: A reconsideration of the lexical evidence." Afrika und Übersee: 89, 183–213.

[1] We Are What We Eat: Ancient Agriculture between the Great Lakes‎^[1], (Can we date this quote?), →JSTOR

[2] Entry 122 at Bantu Lexical Reconstructions 3

[1]

[2]