Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ḫamš-

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

Etymology

Cognate with Proto-Berber *səmmus (whence Central Atlas Tamazight ⵙⵎⵎⵓⵙ (smmus)).

Numeral

**Proto-Semitic numbers ^(edit)**
← 4	5	6 →
Cardinal: *ḫamš-

*ḫamš-

five

Usage notes

This number exhibited chiastic concord (gender polarity), in which masculine forms were used to agree with feminine nouns, and feminine forms with masculine nouns.

Reconstruction notes

Huehnergard reconstructs *ḫamiš- following the Akkadian vowels, which would then have undergone syncope to *ḫamš- per Steiner.

Inflection

Declension of *ḫamš-

Case	m	f
Nominative	*ḫamšum	*ḫamšatum
Genitive	*ḫamšim	*ḫamšatim
Accusative	*ḫamšam	*ḫamšatam

Descendants

East Semitic:
- Akkadian: 𒐊 (ḫamšat)
West Semiitc:
- Central Semitic:
  - Arabic: خَمْسَة (ḵamsa)
    - Egyptian Arabic: خمسة (ḵamsa)
    - Gulf Arabic: خمسة (ḵamsa)
    - Maltese: ħamsa
    - Moroccan Arabic: خمسة (ḵamsa)
    - → Azerbaijani: xəmsə
    - → Hebrew: חַמְסָה (khámsa)
      - → English: hamsa
    - → Ottoman Turkish: خمسه (ḫamse)
    - → Persian: خمسه (xamse)
    - → Urdu: خمسہ
    - → Uzbek: xamsa
  - Dadanitic: 𐪍𐪃𐪊 (ẖms¹)
  - Safaitic: 𐪍𐪃𐪊 (ẖms¹ /⁠ẖams⁠/), 𐪍𐪃𐪊𐪉 (ẖms¹t /⁠ẖamsat⁠/)
  - Northwest Semitic
    - Aramaic: חָמֵשׁ (ḥāmēš)
      Western Neo-Aramaic: ܚܡܫܐ m (ḥamša), ܚܡܫ f (ḥammeš)
    - Canaanite:
      - Biblical Hebrew: חֲמִשָּׁה (ḥămiššâ), חָמֵשׁ (ḥāmēš)
        Israeli Hebrew: חֲמִישָּׁה (khamishá), חָמֵשׁ (khamésh)
      - Phoenician: 𐤇𐤌𐤔𐤕 (ḥmšt)
    - Ugaritic: 𐎃𐎎𐎌𐎚 (ḫmšt /⁠ḫamšatu⁠/)
- Ethiopian Semitic:
  - North Ethiopian Semitic:
    - Ge'ez: ኀምስቱ (ḫämsətu), ኀምስ (ḫäms)
    - Tigre: ሐምስ (ḥäms)
    - Tigrinya: ሓሙሽተ (ḥammuštä)
  - South Ethiopian Semitic:
    - Amharic: አምስት (ʾämsət)

References

Weninger, Stefan (2011) “Reconstructive Morphology”, in Weninger, Stefan, editor, The Semitic Languages. An International Handbook (Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft – Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science; 36), Berlin: De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 167
Huehnergard, John (2019) “Proto-Semitic”, in Huehnergard, John and Na'ama Pat-El, editors, The Semitic Languages, 2nd edition, Routledge, →ISBN, page 61
Richard C. Steiner (2012) “Vowel Syncope and Syllable Repair Processes in Proto-Semitic Construct Forms: A New Reconstruction Based on the Law of Diminishing Conditioning”, in Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization‎, volume 67, →ISSN

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