Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ḥamw-

This Proto-Semitic 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-Semitic

Etymology

According to Igor Diakonoff, the term is inherited from Proto-Afroasiatic *ḥamw- with Egyptian ḥmww (/⁠ḥamw⁠/), ḥmwt,^[1] typically used in the names of craftsmen, the mass of the labouring population in Ancient Egypt, referencing their figurative affiliation to the pharaoh.

Noun

*ḥamw- m (plural *ḥaman-)^[2]

father-in-law

Inflection

Declension of *ḥamw-
case	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*ḥamwum	*ḥamwāna	*ḥamanūna
accusative	*ḥamwam	*ḥamwayna	*ḥamanīna
genitive	*ḥamwim	*ḥamwayna	*ḥamanīna

possessive forms
1^st person	ḥamwī / ḥamwVya	—	*ḥamwVni
2^nd person m	*ḥamwVka	ḥamwVkumā / ḥamwVkumay	*ḥamwVkum(ū)
2^nd person f	*ḥamwVki	ḥamwVkumā / ḥamwVkumay	*ḥamwVkin(ā)
3^rd person m	*ḥamwVšu	ḥamwVšumā / ḥamwVšumay	*ḥamwVšum(ū)
3^rd person f	*ḥamwVša	ḥamwVšumā / ḥamwVšumay	*ḥamwVšin(ā)

the endings -m and -na are dropped in the bound form, which may also undergo syncopation of an unstressed final vowel where possible. Note: the ending -V before the possessive endings responds to case: *ḥamwuya for nom. case, *ḥamwiya for gen. case, *ḥamwaya for acc. case, etc.

Descendants

East Semitic:
- Akkadian: 𒂊𒈬 (e-mu /⁠emu⁠/)
- Eblaite: 𒂍𒈬𒈬 (/⁠ˀà-mu-mu⁠/)
West Semitic:
- Central Semitic:
  - Arabic: حَم (ḥam)
  - Northwest Semitic:
    - Aramaic: חמא / ܚܡܐ (ḥəmā)
    - Canaanite:
      - Hebrew: חָם (ḥām)
- South Semitic:
  - Old South Arabian:
    - Hadrami: 𐩢𐩣 (ḥm)
  - Modern South Arabian:
    - Mehri: ḥaym
    - Soqotri: ḥam
  - Ethiopian Semitic:
    - Northern Ethiopian Semitic:
      - Ge'ez: ሐም (ḥäm)
      - Tigre: ሐም (ḥäm)
      - Tigrinya: ሐሙ (ḥämu)

References

^ Diakonoff, Igor (1999) The paths of history, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 29
^ Kogan, Leonid (2015) “ḥam-”, in Genealogical Classification of Semitic. The Lexical Isoglosses, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 45, only obiter, apparently forgetting or repressing to expand upon this form which is curtailed like *ʔab- (“father”) as one of الْأَسْمَاء السِّتَّة (al-ʔasmāʔ as-sitta).

[1] Diakonoff, Igor (1999) The paths of history, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 29

[2] Kogan, Leonid (2015) “ḥam-”, in Genealogical Classification of Semitic. The Lexical Isoglosses, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 45, only obiter, apparently forgetting or repressing to expand upon this form which is curtailed like *ʔab- (“father”) as one of الْأَسْمَاء السِّتَّة (al-ʔasmāʔ as-sitta).

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