Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/leb-

The reconstruction is uncertain, and contains the rare PIE phoneme *b. A secondary form *lh₂P- also exists, with a variety of labials standing in for P. Moreover, the Iranian initial l- is irregular. The root therefore probably originates from a substrate language or is onomatopoeic (imitative of e.g. licking, smacking lips).^[1]

*leb-

1. ^? to hang down loosely
2. lip
3. to lick

The senses “to hang loosely, flap” and “to lick” appear unrelated, in which case they have been conflated since PIE times, but an intermediate sense “tongue” could bridge the semantic gap. Both are easily sound-symbolic if not onomatopoeic.

• *léb-ti ~ *l̥b-énti (athematic root present)
  • Proto-Anatolian: *lébti
    • Hittite: 𒇷𒅁𒍣 (le-ep-zi)
• *leb-oyé-ti?
  • Proto-Anatolian:
    • Hittite: 𒇷𒉺𒀀𒄑𒍣 (le-pa-a-iz-zi)

Unsorted formations

• Proto-Germanic: *lepô, *lipjô (“lip”)
• Proto-Germanic:
  • Old Norse: lafa
    • Icelandic: lafa
• Proto-Hellenic: *lobós
  • Ancient Greek: λοβός (lobós) (see there for further descendants)
• Proto-Indo-Iranian: *lap-
  • Proto-Iranian: *lap-
    • Middle Persian: [script needed] (lab)
      • Persian: لب (lab, “lip”)
    • Lurish:

      Northern Luri: ڵۏ (llw)

      Bakhtiari: لںۏ (ləw)

      Southern Luri: لںۏ (ləw)

    • Kurdish:

      Northern Kurdish: lêv (“lip”), liv (“movement, act of moving”)

      Central Kurdish: لێو (lêw, “lip”)

      Southern Kurdish: لێو (lêw, “lip”)

    • Zazaki: lew (“lip”)
• Italic: *l̥b-yóm, *l̥b-róm?
  • Proto-Italic: *labjom, *labrom^[1]
    • Latin: labium, labrum (“lip”)

From the root *lh₂P-

• *lh₂b- (root present)
  • Proto-Germanic: *lapaną (“to lick”)
    • Old High German: laffan
• *lh₂-né-b⁽ʰ⁾- ~ *lh₂-m-b⁽ʰ⁾- (nasal-infix present)
  • Italic:
    • Latin: lambō (“to lick”)
• *lh₂b-el-os
  • Proto-Germanic: *lapilaz (“spoon”)
    • Dutch: lepel
    • Old High German: leffil

Unsorted formations

• Albanian: lap (“to lick up water”)
• Armenian:
  • Old Armenian: լափեմ (lapʻem, “to lap up, lick up; to eat up greedily, devour”)
• Balto-Slavic:
  • Lithuanian: lapènti (“to eat greedily”)
  • Slavic:
    • East Slavic:
      • Russian: ло́пать (lópatʹ, “to gobble up”)
      • (possibly) Russian: лобзать (lobzatʹ, “to kiss”)
    • South Slavic:
      • Bulgarian: лапам (lapam, “to eat greedily”)
• Hellenic:
  • Ancient Greek: λάπτω (láptō, “to lick”)
  • Ancient Greek: λαφύσσω (laphússō, “to devour”)