Cognate Set 3309 – Meaning: four
- IE-CoR reference form:
- ?*meh₁-
- IE-CoR reference language:
- Proto-Indo-European
- Ideophonic:
- no
- Parallel derivation:
- no
- Justification:
- Etymology outside of Anatolian uncertain, perhaps to the root *meh₁- 'to measure', but ultimately unclear. Cf. Kloekhorst 2008:571-572, HED M 116-119 for further discussion.
- Found in clades:
- Anatolian
- Revised by:
- Matthew Scarborough
Found in 1 clade by 2 lexemes.
|
Language |
Lexeme |
Native script |
Phonetic |
Phonemic |
Notes |
| 1 |
Hittite
|
me(i̯)u̯- / mei̯au̯- |
mi-e-u̯a-aš |
|
|
perhaps derived from the adjective 'little': 'little hand', the fingers minus the thumb (Gvozdanovic 1992:77). |
| 2 |
Luvian
|
māu̯a- |
ma-a-u-u̯a-a-ti (CL) |
|
|
CL: 4-zi (nom.pl.com.); ma-a-u-wa-a-ti (abl.-instr.) |
- References
- Kloekhorst, Alwin: 571-572
S.v. Hitt. me(i̯)u- / mei̯au̯- 'four'. The Hittite stem is difficult to etymologise. Perhaps to be connected with the root *meh₁- 'to measure', but ultimately unclear. Within Anatolian cf. CLuw. māuu̯a- 'four' and possib. Lyc. mupm̃m- 'fourfold?'.
- Puhvel, Jaan: 116-119
S.v. Hitt. me(y)u-, mi(y)u- 'four'. "Pending further illumination, Proto-Anatolian *mēyu- < *meE₂ʸu- can be postulated as an u-stem adjective meaning basically '(firmly) measured, (four)square', comparable to Ved. sam-mā́ya (RV 1.67.10 'staking out' [like craftsmen do an abode]), vi-mā́ya (RV 10.114.6 'measuring out' [a sacrifice, after dividing four catúraḥ) cups of soma]), pra-mā́- 'prime measure, prototype')."
