Micronesian Comparative Dictionary
Cognate Sets
a c e f i k l m mʷ n ñ ŋ o p pʷ r s S t T u w x y
PMc *taa, taa-ki chop
— Cf. —
Marshallese short vowel unexplained. |
PCMc *taa, taa-ni to like, be fond
Cf. Proto–Pohnpeic-Chuukic *taka, taka-ni ‘stomach, have stomach for’. |
PCMc *taapa knife
— Cf. —
|
PCMc *taaw(ae) ashamed
|
PCMc *tae, tae-ki- removed
|
PMc *tafa, tafa-si to cut in pieces, slice
— Cf. —
Cf. also Proto-Micronesian (?) *[sS]afi₁ ‘pick, pluck, tear off’, Proto-Micronesian *[sS]afa, [sS]afa-ŋi- ‘to gather, pick’, Proto–Pohnpeic-Chuukic *daf[ei] ‘be open’, Proto-Micronesian *tapa, tapatapa, tapa-ki ‘be cut, lopped, to cut (something) off’. |
PWMc *tafaali again, return
— Cf. —
|
PMc *tai, ta- not
|
PMc *taitai, tai-mi, tai-ma sharpen
|
PWMc *takaka slice of copra
— Cf. —
|
PMc *takuru back (of body)
— Cf. —
|
PMc *tala, tala-[sS]i slack, loosen
|
PMc *talai adze
— Cf. —
|
PCMc *tale clear, distinct
|
PMc *tali rope
— Cf. —
|
PCMc *tali- facing
Marshallese heavy ḷ results from assimilation to following directionals, which begin with heavy consonants. |
PCMc *talia side dish of meat, fish, or sauce
|
PCMc *talilapa builder, bind together
|
PMc *taliŋa ear, mushroom, fungus
|
PMc *tama father
|
PWMc *tanisi finger or toe
|
PMc *tanitani skin disease
|
PMc *tano ground, low
— Cf. —
— Note —
Cf. also Proto-Chuukic *itano ‘deposited, put away’. See Marck (1994:317) Proto-Micronesian *tano ‘soil, earth, ground’. |
PMc *tano-mi- to catch (water) in a container
|
PMc *tañifa a small fish
|
PWMc *taŋi from (something), away from (usually suffixed to verbs)
The Marshallese n is unexpected. |
PMc *taŋi, taŋi-Si- cry, weep
|
PMc *taŋiri tuna
— Cf. —
|
PMc *tao a thwart, tie
— Cf. —
|
PCMc *tapa, ka-tapa speak, spoken
— Cf. —
This may be the same root as Proto-Micronesian *tapa, tapa-[kŋ]i ‘to answer’. |
PMc *tap[ae], tap[ae]-ki lift up, carry, bear in ones hands
— Cf. —
Cf. also Proto-Micronesian *[st]apa, [st]apa[st]apa, [st]apa-ŋi ‘to help’. |
PMc *tapa, tapa-[kŋ]i to answer
This may be the same root as Proto–Central Micronesian *tapa, ka-tapa ‘speak, spoken’. |
PMc *tapa, tapatapa, tapa-ki be cut, lopped, to cut (something) off
— Cf. —
Cf. Proto-Micronesian *tafa, tafa-si ‘to cut in pieces, slice’. |
PMc (?) *tapa₁ a fish
|
PMc *tapa₂ cheek
See also Proto–Central Micronesian *tape₂ ‘face, turn’. |
PMc *tapa₃ be caught, snagged
|
PMc *tapaka[wØ]u a mat
Puluwatese sepaawo (sic) ‘coconut leaf mat’ is clearly a loan from another Chuukic language, and the Kusaiean form may be a loan from Marshallese. |
PCMc *tape₁ busy
Cf. Proto-Micronesian *tap[ae], tap[ae]-ki ‘lift up, carry, bear in one’s hands’, Proto-Micronesian *[st]apa, [st]apa[st]apa, [st]apa-ŋi ‘to help’. |
PCMc *tape₂ face, turn
— Cf. —
— Cf. also —
See also Proto-Micronesian *tapa₂ ‘cheek’. |
PMc *tapia bowl, constellation Delphinus
— Cf. —
|
PCMc *tapʷakea kind of turtle
See also Trukese pʷáápʷá ‘turtle’ and Saipan Carolinian·T pʷáápʷá ‘turtle’, which may well be derived from *pʷakea. |
PMc *tapʷo district, division
— Cf. —
Cf. also Proto-Micronesian *tapʷo, tapʷo-[sS]a ‘end, terminate’. See also Marck (1994:322) Proto–Central Micronesian *tap’o. |
PMc *tapʷo, tapʷo-[sS]a end, terminate
— Cf. —
And cf. Proto-Micronesian *tapʷo ‘district, division’. |
PMc *tapʷu₁ taboo, ritual restriction, be taboo
— Cf. —
Cf. also Proto-Micronesian *tapʷu₂ ‘future negative’, Proto–Western Micronesian *aapʷa ‘no’. |
PMc *tapʷu₂ future negative
Cf. also Proto-Micronesian *tapʷu₁ ‘taboo, ritual restriction, be taboo’, Proto–Western Micronesian *aapʷa ‘no’. |
PMc *tara sacred, holy
Note that Kiribati tataro ‘to pray’ and taro-mauri ‘worship’ are loans from Polynesian, e.g., Samoan talo ‘to pray’ (obsolete). |
PMc (?) *tara, tara-[sS]i to look, look at
Geraghty’s reconstruction relies heavily on the Micronesian forms, which he seems to misinterpret. |
PMc *taraa squirrel fish
— Cf. —
|
PWMc *taraki to sail
— Cf. —
Yapese tarég ‘to sail’ is evidently a loan from a Chuukic source. |
PCMc *tarawa barracuda
Cf. Proto-Micronesian *turai ‘barracuda’. |
PWMc *tare peer group, tier
— Cf. —
|
PMc *tare, tare-ki- to move, remove
|
PMc *tari child
Expressed final vowel without suffixed form in Mortlockese, Mokilese, Pingilapese, and Marshallese poses problem. Cf. also Proto–Central Micronesian (?) *atarei ‘child’. |
PCMc *taro to be able
|
PMc *ta[sS]i- younger sibling
— Cf. —
|
PMc *taSi salt water
See also Marck (1994:309) Proto-Micronesian *tazi. |
PWMc *tata yellow snapper
|
PMc *tau₁ person
See also Proto-Micronesian *tawu-₁ ‘master, expert’, Proto-Micronesian (?) *tawu₂ ‘clan, family’. |
PMc *tau₂ season, sun
— Cf. —
Cf. Marck (1994:309) Proto-Micronesian *ta[wØ]u ‘sun, year, season’. |
PMc (?) *tau₃ who?
— There are problems here. Cf. —
Note that Kiribati ae ‘who (relative pronoun)’ appears to be a loan from Samoan (i)-ai ‘who (relative pronoun)’. |
PMc *tautau, tau-ki to catch
— Cf. —
Cf. Proto-Micronesian *tawu₃ ‘saved, held on to’. |
PMc *tautu porcupine fish
— Cf. —
|
PMc *tawaa break, broken
— Cf. —
|
PWMc *tawia any of several kinds of sea bass
|
PMc *ta[wØ]o, ta[wØ]o-ni to press
|
PMc *tawu, tawu-ni laid, to lay (of a fire)
Cf. Proto-Micronesian *tawu, tawu-ni, tawu-na ‘to plant, bury’. |
PMc *tawu, tawu-ni, tawu-na to plant, bury
— Cf. —
— Cf. also —
And cf. Proto–Central Micronesian *ta[wØ]u₁ ‘time period’, Proto–Central Micronesian (?) *Too ‘at rest’, Proto-Micronesian *tano ‘ground, low’. |
PMc *tawu-₁ master, expert
— Cf. —
(The saw- in certain Ponapeian high titles is probably a Polynesian loan). See also Proto-Micronesian *tau₂ ‘season, sun’ and Proto-Micronesian (?) *tawu₂ ‘clan, family’. There are problems. |
PCMc *ta[wØ]u₁ time period
See Proto–Central Micronesian *ta[wØ]u₂ ‘to wait’. |
PMc (?) *tawu₂ clan, family
See also Proto-Micronesian *tau₂ ‘season, sun’, Proto-Micronesian *tawu-₁ ‘master, expert’. |
PCMc *ta[wØ]u₂ to wait
— Cf. —
See also Proto-Micronesian *tau₂ ‘season, sun’, Proto–Central Micronesian *ta[wØ]u₁ ‘time period’. |
PCMc *tawu₃ saved, held on to
— Cf. —
Cf. also Proto-Micronesian *tautau, tau-ki ‘to catch’. |
PMc *ta[wØ]u[iu] placenta, afterbirth
— Cf. —
|
PMc *tawui triton or trumpet shell
|
PCMc (?) *tawu or *co[wØ]a- a fish
The Woleaian and Kiribati forms are incompatible and probably do not both belong in this set. See also Proto-Micronesian *tautu ‘porcupine fish’. |
PCMc *taxe, taxe-ki- removed, excised
|
PMc *te- one (prefixed to classifiers)
|
PMc *telu, telu-ua three, three (general)
See Proto-Micronesian *-ua ‘general classifier in counting (suffixed to numerals)’. |
PMc (?) *tewe, tewe-mea goatfish
— Cf. —
|
PMc *tia₁ stomach, belly, abdomen
Cf. Proto–Pohnpeic-Chuukic *taka, taka-ni ‘stomach, have stomach for’. |
PMc (?) *tia₂ a fish
Cf. Proto-Micronesian *tia₁ ‘stomach, belly, abdomen’. |
PCMc *tiaa boundary
— Cf. also —
|
PWMc *tiapʷo growing tip of a tree
— Cf. —
|
PCMc (?) *tici bamboo
|
PMc *tiku or *tuki tropic bird
Note that Ø is the expected reflex of *t in the Ponapeian and Mokilese forms. The wúkú- in Trukese wúkú-(par) and Puluwatese wúkú-(chcha), wúkú-(pak) appear to be the root for ‘tail’ (see Proto-Micronesian *iku ‘tail’) rather than this one. |
PMc *tina mother
— Cf. —
|
PCMc *tinitini, tini-mi to roast, broil
— Cf. —
— Cf. also —
|
PMc *t[iu]pʷu be born, bear young
Note that Ponapeian dipʷ, dipʷi-(n) ‘exogamous matrilineal clan’ is presumably a loan. |
PMc *tiro, tiro-ŋi to peer, have a look
— Cf. —
Kiribati tiro-a ‘to inspect, scrutinize (something)’ is a loan from a Polynesian source, e.g., Samoan tilotilo ‘look, glance’. Note the unexpected absence of an initial consonant (t or s) in the Kusaiean form, which may be a loan from Ponapeian. |
PWMc *tisi, tisi-ŋi to point or face
— Cf. —
— Cf. —
|
PMc *tiSaki to ask
— Cf. —
Cf. also Proto-Chuukic *[kØ]a[tØ]ieki ‘to ask’, Proto-Chuukic *katia, katitia ‘to ask, a question’. |
PMc (?) *to[ae] inheritance
Inclusion of Woleaian tóó-(shigi) ‘careful treatment, careful consideration’ in this series (Bender et al. 1984, Geraghty 1990) is not justifiable. There are problems here. |
PMc *toka₁ to chop
|
PMc *toka₂ rafter
— Cf. —
|
PMc *toki bite, peck
Note that Kiribati doublet (te)-toki ‘chisel’ would appear to be a loan from Samoan to’i ‘adze’, since it does not show the loss of t before k. |
PMc (?) *toko omen
|
PMc *toko, toko-na cane, walking stick
— Cf. —
Note: Trukese, Mortlockese, and Puluwatese wóók, wóku-n ‘cane, cane of’, may be related but are not inherited forms. |
PMc *tokolau northerly, from the north
— Cf. —
See also Proto-Micronesian *lau ‘pool, have liquid’. |
PMc *toŋo mangrove
Cf. Ponapeian soomʷ instead of expected *soong. |
PCMc *tou to dodge, parry (in fighting)
— See also —
|
PCMc (?) *t[ou]wai future negative, will not
Cf. Proto-Chuukic *-taa[iØ] ‘no longer’ (aspect marker). |
PMc *towu sugarcane
— Cf. —
— Cf. —
|
PMc *tuki tropic bird |
PMc *tuki, tukituki to pound
— Cf. —
Note that Ø is the expected reflex in the Ponapeian and Mokilese forms. |
PMc *[tT]ulu- young shoot, sprout
— Cf. —
— Cf. also —
Cf. Proto-Micronesian *ili ‘sprout, shoot (of plants)’. |
PMc (?) *tuna freshwater eel
Marshallese teṇʷ ‘freshwater eel’ is an evident loan from Kusaiean — these eels are not found in the Marshalls but are known from the Eastern Carolines. |
PMc (?) *[tT]upa fish poison
See also Proto-Micronesian *upa ‘derris vine’, Proto-Micronesian (?) *iwu ‘tree (Barringtonia asiatica). |
PMc *tura house post
— Cf. —
Marshallese length needs explanation. |
PMc (?) *turai barracuda
Cf. Proto–Central Micronesian *tarawa ‘barracuda’. |
PMc *turi to string
|
PMc *turu to drip
— Cf. —
|
PMc *tu[sS]u finger, toe
— Cf. —
Cf. also Proto–Western Micronesian *tanisi ‘finger or toe’. |
PMc *tuu₁ to stand
— Cf. —
See also Proto-Micronesian *tuu₂ ‘stopped, halted’. |
PMc *tuu₂ stopped, halted
See also Proto-Micronesian *tuu₁ ‘to stand’. |