Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ʔamat-

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

A baby’s word for its maid.

Noun

*ʔamat- f

maid, maidservant

Inflection

Declension of *ʔamat-
case	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*ʔamatum	*ʔamatāna	*ʔamātum
accusative	*ʔamatam	*ʔamatayna	*ʔamātim
genitive	*ʔamatim	*ʔamatayna	*ʔamātim

possessive forms
1^st person	ʔamatī / ʔamatVya	—	*ʔamatVni
2^nd person m	*ʔamatVka	ʔamatVkumā / ʔamatVkumay	*ʔamatVkum(ū)
2^nd person f	*ʔamatVki	ʔamatVkumā / ʔamatVkumay	*ʔamatVkin(ā)
3^rd person m	*ʔamatVšu	ʔamatVšumā / ʔamatVšumay	*ʔamatVšum(ū)
3^rd person f	*ʔamatVša	ʔamatVšumā / ʔamatVšumay	*ʔamatVšin(ā)

the endings -m and -na are dropped in the bound form, which may also undergo syncopation of an unstressed final vowel where possible. Note: the ending -V before the possessive endings responds to case: *ʔamatuya for nom. case, *ʔamatiya for gen. case, *ʔamataya for acc. case, etc.

Descendants

East Semitic:
- Akkadian: 𒊩𒆳 (amtum)
West Semitic:
- Central Semitic:
  - Arabic: أَمَة (ʔama)
  - Northwest Semitic:
    - Aramaic:
      Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַמְתָא (ʾamṯā)
      - Classical Mandaic: ࡀࡌࡕࡀ (ʾamtā)
      - Classical Syriac: ܐܰܡܬܳܐ (ʾamṯā)
    - Canaanite:
      - Hebrew: אָמָה ('amá, ʾāmâ)
      - Phoenician: 𐤀𐤌𐤕 (ʾmt)
    - Ugaritic: 𐎀𐎎𐎚 (ảmt /⁠ʾamatu⁠/)
  - Old South Arabian:
    - Sabaean: 𐩱𐩣𐩩 (ʾmt)
    - Qatabanian: 𐩱𐩣𐩩 (ʾmt)
- Ethiopian Semitic:
  - Ge'ez: አመት (ʾämät)
    - → Amharic: አመት (ʾamät)
  - Tigre: አመት (ʾämät)

References

Goetze, Albrecht (1947) “Short or Long a? (Notes on Some Akkadian Words)”, in Orientalia‎^[1], volume 16, number 2, page 240
Kogan, Leonid (2011) “Proto-Semitic Lexicon”, 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 237
Nöldeke, Theodor (1910) Neue Beiträge zur semitischen Sprachwissenschaft‎^[2] (in German), Straßburg: Karl J. Trübner, →DOI, pages 129–130