< Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan

Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/d-ŋa

This Proto-Sino-Tibetan 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-Sino-Tibetan

Etymology
  • Proto-Sino-Tibetan: ?
    • Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *d-ŋa (Matisoff, STEDT)

Other roots for "tooth": *m-dzjwaj, *s-wa ~ p-wa.

Chinese 牙 may alternatively be regarded as a loan from an Austroasiatic language (Norman / Mei, 1976; Norman, 1988). Compare Vietnamese ngà (“ivory”), Mon လ္ၚာပ် ((tə)ŋèp, “back tooth, molar”) and loanword in Proto-Tai *ŋaːᴬ (“tusk, ivory”) (whence Thai งา (ngaa), Lao ງາ (ngā)). Pulleyblank (1983) believes Old Chinese was the donor.

Noun

*d-ŋa

  1. tooth

Descendants
  • Old Chinese: 牙 /*m-ɢˁ‹r›a/ (Baxter-Sagart), /*ŋraː/ (Zhengzhang Shangfang)
    • Middle Chinese: 牙 /ŋɣa/
      • Mandarin:
        • Beijing: 牙 (yá) /i̯a³⁵/ (“tooth”)
      • Cantonese:
        • Guangzhou-Hong Kong: 牙 (ngaa4) /ŋaː²¹/ (“tooth”)
  • Kamarupan
    • Kuki-Chin
      • Central Chin: Proto-Central-Chin /*hŋaw/ (“fang, canine tooth”)
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