Cognate Set 6094 – Meaning: ant

IE-CoR reference form:
pipīlá-
IE-CoR reference language:
Vedic
Ideophonic:
no
Parallel derivation:
no
Proposed as cognate to:
pôruwā [Assamese] scale: 0
Justification:
Modern Indo-Iranic lexemes based on Vedic pipīlá- 'ant', of unknown origin (EWAia II:132-133, KEWA II:284-285). The modern forms exhibit six main variants, for which cf. Turner 1962–1966:463, no. 8201.
Found in clades:
Indic
Revised by:
Matthew Scarborough
Found in 1 clade by 7 lexemes.
Language Lexeme Native script Phonetic Phonemic Notes
35   Palula pilíilu پِلِیلوۡ piˈliːlo pilíilu
25   Bengali pim̐pṛe পিঁপড়ে pĩpɽe
22   Pali pipīlikā pɪpiːlɪkaː pipiːlikaː
38   Khowar piliili پیلیلی piˈlʲiːlʲi pilìli
37   Gawarbati pila پِلہ piˈl̪ɞ pila GM pil'a
36   Gawri pilil پِلِیل piˈl̪il̪̥ pilil HL
39   Pashai: North-West pləlaakə پله لاکه pə̆ləˈlaˑkə pləlaːkə
References
  • Mayrhofer, Manfred: II:284-285
    S.v. Skt. pipīláḥ 'Ameise / ant'. An unclear, probably non-Indic word.
  • Mayrhofer, Manfred: II:132-133
    S.v. Ved. pipīlá- 'Ameise', of uncertain etymology.
  • Turner, Ralph Lilley: 463
    S.v. 8201 Skt. pipīlá- m. 'ant' RV., °laka- m. 'large black ant' ChUp., pipī́likā- f. 'small red ant' AV., pīlaka- m. 'ant' lex.; also reconstructed *piphīla- . 3. *pippīla- . 4. *pipphīla- . 5. *pippīḍa- . 6. *pilīla-. [Variety of MIA. and NIA. forms for 'ant' may be due partly to its (unknown) non-Aryan origin (EWA ii 285), partly to contamination with kīṭá- and kŕ̥mi-, but mainly to some sort of taboo for a noxious insect. Although there appear to be six main types, not all NIA. forms can be grouped exactly under them]