Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/s-ni-s

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: *s-nis (Chou, 1972); *sn̥jis (Coblin, 1986)
- Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *s-ni-s (Matisoff, STEDT); *s-nis (Benedict, 1972; Chou, 1972; LaPolla, 1987)

Apparently formed from the same root *ni(-s) as Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/s-ni-s (“two”), showing the vestige of a quinary numeral system at some stage (probably much earlier than Proto-Sino-Tibetan), so that "7" was expressed as "5 + 2", as in Proto-Austronesian *pitu. However attempts to relate any part of this proto-form to the root for "five" (*l/b-ŋa) have been unsuccessful, and there is no evidence in other numerals (e.g. 6 and 1, or 8 and 3) to suggest the same quinary relationship.

Burmese has a prefix khu’ which as a separate morpheme means "unit, individual thing". Matisoff has argued that this component is cognate with *k(r)ut (“hand, arm”), the connection being via the five fingers used in counting. Tibetan བདུན (bdun, “seven”) is unrelated to this root and its etymology has been something of a mystery.

Preemption of the nasal root initial by prefix is seen in Chinese (if the Old Chinese reconstruction by Zhengzhang is valid) and Lolo-Burmese. Many Kuki-Chin-Naga languages have r-, ɣ- or g- as the root initial. Matisoff believes this resulted from "rhotacism", or liquefaction of the nasal.

Numeral

*s-ni-s

Proto-Sino-Tibetan numerals
ONE	ʔit kat *tjak ~ g-t(j)ik
TWO	*g/s-ni-s
THREE	*g-sum
FOUR	*b-ləj
FIVE	*l/b-ŋa
SIX	*d-k-ruk
SEVEN	*s-ni-s
EIGHT	*b-r-gjat ~ b-g-rjat
NINE	*d/s-kəw
TEN	gip ts(j)i(j) ~ tsjaj
TWENTY	*m-kul
HUNDRED	*b-r-gja
THOUSAND	*s-tawŋ

seven

Descendants

Old Chinese: 七 (*sn̥ʰid) /*sn̥id/ (Zhengzhang Shangfang); /*tsʰit/ (Baxter–Sagart)
- Middle Chinese: 七 (t͡sʰiɪt̚) /t͡sʰiɪt/
  - Mandarin:
    Standard: 七 (qī) /t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵/
    
    Sichuanese: 七 (qi²) /t͡ɕʰi²¹/
    
    Dungan: чи (či) /t͡ɕʰiː²⁴/
  - Cantonese:
    Guangzhou: 七 (cat¹) /t͡sʰɐt̚⁵/
    
    Taishan: 七 (qī) /tʰit̚⁵⁵/
  - Gan: /t͡ɕʰiʔ⁵/
  - Hakka:
    Sixian: 七 (chhit) /t͡ɕʰit̚²/
  - Huizhou: /t͡sʰiʔ²¹/, /t͡sʰi⁵/
  - Jin: /t͡ɕʰiəʔ²/, /t͡ɕʰiʌʔ¹³/, /t͡ɕʰiəʔ⁴³/
  - Northern Min:
    Jian'ou: 七 (chĭ) /t͡sʰi²⁴/
  - Eastern Min:
    Fuzhounese: 七 (chék) /t͡sʰɛiʔ²⁴/
  - Min Nan:
    Hokkien:
    Xiamen, Zhangzhou: 七 (chhit) /t͡ɕʰit̚³²/
    
    Quanzhou: 七 (chhiak, chhit) /t͡ɕʰiak̚⁵/ (colloquial), /t͡ɕʰit̚⁵/ (literary)
    
    Teochew: 七 (cig⁴, cêg⁴) /t͡sʰik̚²/, /t͡sʰek̚²/
  - Xiang: /t͡sʰi²⁴/
  - Wu:
    - Shanghainese: 七 (qiq⁴) /t͡ɕʰiɪ̆ʔ⁵⁵/
  - → Ai-Cham: sit⁷
  - → Japanese: 七 (shichi, shitsu)
  - → Korean: 칠 (chil)
  - → Proto-Tai: *cetᴰ (see there for further descendants)
  - → Vietnamese: thất
Proto-Tibeto-Burman:
- Himalayish:
  - Tibeto-Kanauri:
    - Bodic:
      - Eastern Bodish:
        Kurtöp: ནཱི́ ('nî)
- Lolo-Burmese:
  - Burmish:
    - Burmese: ခုနစ် (hku.nac)
  - Proto-Loloish:
    - Nuosu: ꏃ (shyp)
- Qiangic:
  - Tangut: 𗒹 (*śjạ¹)
  - Situ: kəʃnəs
- Sal:
  - Jingpho: sanit
- Bodo-Garo
  - Garo: sini (“seven”)
  - Atong (India): sene (“seven”)
  - Kokborok: sni (“seven”)
→ Proto-Karen: *Ɂnweᴬ, *Ɂnwetᴰ (Luangthongkum, 2013)
- S'gaw Karen: နွံ (nwee)

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