butterfly

[Rory M Larson]

John wrote:
>On Wed, 29 Oct 2003, Rory M Larson wrote:
>> Bob wrote:
>> >  Kansa ... /nikkaphe/ 'comb' ...
>> And OP       /mikka'he/ 'comb'
>>
>> So here we have a case of PDh *ni => OP mi !
>
> Sharp eyes, Rory!  We'd have to check other cases
> to be sure which way the shift went.  Perhaps
> mi(N)- here is (or is intended for) 'woman'.

Yes, you're probably right.  Actually, the verb
'to comb' in OP is /gahe/ (or /kkahe/ ??).  So
the first syllable is a separate element, and that
breaks the supposed /nikka/ morpheme.  So
whichever way the shift went, the Kansa word
/nikkaphe/ is apparently not based on /nikka/.

Rory