Reconstruction:Proto-Vietic/-bəːʔ

This Proto-Vietic 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-Vietic

Etymology

There are two competing theories around the origin of this word. Shorto (2006) connects it with Proto-Mon-Khmer *(ʔ)boʔ (“mother”); the shift “mother > wife, woman” is present in Jehai baboʔ (“woman, female”) too. Other researchers, especially in the sinological department, see this word as an early borrowing from Old Chinese 婦 (OC *bɯʔ) (Alves, 2015).

Compare also Indonesian babu (“servant, (literary) mother”) and ibu (“mother”).

Noun

*-bəːʔ

1. wife

Descendants

• Viet-Muong:
  • Muong: bợ, vợ
  • Middle Vietnamese: 𡞕 (ꞗợ), 𡢼 (ꞗợ)
    • Vietnamese: vợ

See also

• *p-keːʔ