STEDT Etymon #1637
1.0 The Body > 1.9 Reproductive System > 1.9.7 Penis
#1637 PTB *gaŋ PENIS / MALE |
This etymon has solid reflexes in the NE Indian Areal Group (Garo, Karbi) and Himalayish (Lepcha, Manchati). Several Chinese comparanda suggest themselves: 雄 OC *gi̯ŭng, GSR #887l ‘male’; Mand. xióng, and/or 犅 OC *kɑ̂ng, GSR #697f-g, ‘bull’; Mand. gāng. A less plausible comparison is with 公 OC *kung, GSR #1173a-f ‘father; prince’; Mand gōng (although Karlgren notes that ‘some of these forms seem to suggest a phallic interpretation’). STC (n. 488, p. 190) suggests comparing this last Chinese morpheme to TB forms like Rawang əkhaŋ ‘grandfather’; WB pha’‑khaŋ ‘father’, mi’‑khaŋ ‘mother’, khaŋ‑pwân ‘spouse’, and khaŋ‑bhya ‘sir; madam’. It seems unlikely, however, that this group of forms has anything specifically to do with maleness; it seems rather to have been an honorific appellation for an elder or respected relative of either sex.
| rn | analysis | lgid | reflex | gloss | gfn | language | grpid | grpno | grp | genetic | citation | srcabbr | srcid | rn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47214 | m,1637 | 1063 | chò-kàng | penis | Mikir [Karbi] | 14 | 1.5 | Mikir [Karbi] | 1 | Grüssner 79 BP | KHG-MikirQ | 69 | 0 | |
| 113835 | 1284,1637 | 571 | ri-gaŋ | penis | Garo | 81 | 1.7.1.2 | Garo | 1 | Matisoff 87 BP | JAM-Ety | 0 | ||
| 29352 | 1284,1637 | 572 | ri-gaŋ | penis | Garo | 81 | 1.7.1.2 | Garo | 1 | Matisoff 85 GSTC | JAM-GSTC | 049 | 0 | |
| 70743 | 1284,1637 | 579 | ri-gaŋ | penis | Garo | 81 | 1.7.1.2 | Garo | 1 | Benedict 72 STC | STC | 262 | 0 | |
| 145034 | 1284,1637 | 581 | ri-gong | penis | Garo (Bangladesh) | 81 | 1.7.1.2 | Garo | 1 | Burling 92 GaBa | RB-GB | 0 | ||
| 131400 | 1637,1002 | 1005 | gàŋ◦mì | male | Pattani [Manchati] | 20 | 2.1.1 | Western Himalayish | 0 | Sharma, S.R. 91 Ma | STP-ManQ | 10.3 | 0 | |
| 118321 | m,1637 | 894 | sun̊-gan̊ | penis | Lepcha | 21 | 2.1.3 | Lepcha | 1 | Matisoff 87 BP | JAM-Ety | 0 | ||
| 612328 | 1637 | 2207 | 雄 | male | Chinese (Hanzi) | 52 | 9 | Sinitic | 1 | BaxterSagart 2011 | WHBLS-2011 | 3176 | 0 | |
| 606666 | 1637 | 2211 | 0887l | male | Chinese (GSR #) | 52 | 9 | Sinitic | 1 | BaxterSagart 2011 | WHBLS-2011 | 3176 | 0 | |
| 328916 | 1637,1637 | 481 | gi̯ŭng/ji̯ung | male | Chinese (Old/Mid) | 53 | 9.0.1 | Old Chinese | 0 | Karlgren 57 GSR | GSR | 887l | 0 | |
| 295679 | 1637 | 471 | wjɨng | male of birds and small animals | Chinese (Old) | 53 | 9.0.1 | Old Chinese | 0 | Baxter 92 | WHB-OC | 1348 | 0 | |
| 602592 | 1637 | 2210 | ɢʷəŋ {[ɢ]ʷəŋ} | male | Chinese (Old) | 53 | 9.0.1 | Old Chinese | 0 | BaxterSagart 2011 | WHBLS-2011 | 3176 | 0 | |
| 598518 | 1637 | 2209 | hjuwng | male | Chinese (Middle) | 54 | 9.0.2 | Middle Chinese | 0 | BaxterSagart 2011 | WHBLS-2011 | 3176 | 0 | |
| 594444 | 1637 | 2208 | xióng | male | Chinese (Mandarin) | 55 | 9.0.3 | Modern Chinese | 0 | BaxterSagart 2011 | WHBLS-2011 | 3176 | 0 |
雄 OC *gi̯ŭng, GSR #887l ‘male’; Li 1971: *gwjəng; Baxter 1992 #1348: *wjɨng; Mand. xióng.
This proposed cognate is doubtful. The OC labialized initial plus schwa vocalism would normally correspond to a rounded vowel in PTB.
[ZJH]
犅 OC *kɑ̂ng, GSR #697f-g ‘bull’; Li 1971: *kang; Baxter 1992: *kang; Mand. gāng.
The proposed cognacy works phonetically, but one must also note a competing etymology with equally persuasive semantics that relates this Chinese word to WT glang ‘cow, elephant’. (Gong 1995 and 2001 instead relate WT glang to OC ‘elephant’ 象 *gljangx > *ljangx.)
Schuessler (2007:251) suggests that 犅 may come from earlier *klaŋ, and posits a relationship with Mru klaŋ ‘male’ and Lushai (Mizo) tlaŋ ‘male’, as well as with WT glang. He proposes a PTB root *laŋ with animal prefix *s‑ or *k‑.1
Note the parallel etymology with a homophonous member of the same phonetic series 岡 ‘ridge’ (Mand. gāng), which has been compared to WT sgang ‘hill, spur’ and WB khang ‘strip of high ground’ (see for example Coblin 1986:94-2).2
[ZJH]