Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ʔayy-

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

Pronoun

*ʔayy-

Used to form questions: which, what, when, where, how, etc.

Inflection

Declension of *ʔayy-

Case	Singular		Dual		Plural
	m	f	m	f	m	f
Nominative	*ʔayyum	*ʔayyatum	*ʔayyāna	*ʔayyatāna	*ʔayyūna	*ʔayyātum
Genitive	*ʔayyim	*ʔayyatim	*ʔayyayna	*ʔayyatayna	*ʔayyīna	*ʔayyātim
Accusative	*ʔayyam	*ʔayyatam	*ʔayyayna	*ʔayyatayna	*ʔayyīna	*ʔayyātim

Descendants

East Semitic:
- Akkadian: 𒀀𒀀𒌑𒌝 (ayyum, “which”)
West Semitic:
- Central Semitic:
  - Arabic: أَيّ (ʔayy, “which”)
  - Northwest Semitic:
    - Aramaic:
      - Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַיְנָא (ʾaynā, “who, which, what”)
      - Classical Syriac: ܐܰܝܢܳܐ (ʾaynā, “who, which, what”)
    - Canaanite:
      - Hebrew: אֵי (e, ʾê, “where”), אַיֵּה ('ayé, ʾayyê, “where”)
        Hebrew: אֵיזֶה ('éze, ʾếzê, “which, what”), אֵיפֹה (efo, ʾêp̄ô, “where”), הֵיכָן (hékhan, hêḵān, “where”), אֵימָתַי ('ematáy, ʾêmāṯay, “when”), כֵּיצַד (ketsád, kêṣaḏ, “how”), אֵיך (ékh, ʾêḵ, “how”)
    - Ugaritic: 𐎛𐎊 (ỉy /⁠ʾē⁠/) / 𐎛 (ỉ /⁠ʾēyy⁠/, “where”)
  - Old South Arabian:
    - Minaean: 𐩱𐩺 (ʾy, “whichever”)
    - Qatabanian: 𐩱𐩺 (ʾy, “whichever”)
    - Sabaean: 𐩱𐩺 (ʾy, “which”)
- Ethiopian Semitic:
  - Ge'ez: አይ (ʾäy, “which, what”)
  - Tigre: አዪ (ʾäyi, “which”)
  - Tigrinya: -አይ (-äy) (suffixed to interrogatives)

References

Eran Cohen (2019) “The Interrogative Element *ʾayy- in Semitic”, in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft‎, volume 169, number 2, pages 327-342

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