Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ṯayn-

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

Noun

*ṯayn- f

urine

Inflection

Declension of *ṯayn-
case	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*ṯaynum	*ṯaynāna	*ṯaynātum
accusative	*ṯaynam	*ṯaynayna	*ṯaynātim
genitive	*ṯaynim	*ṯaynayna	*ṯaynātim

possessive forms
1^st person	ṯaynī / ṯaynVya	—	*ṯaynVni
2^nd person m	*ṯaynVka	ṯaynVkumā / ṯaynVkumay	*ṯaynVkum(ū)
2^nd person f	*ṯaynVki	ṯaynVkumā / ṯaynVkumay	*ṯaynVkin(ā)
3^rd person m	*ṯaynVšu	ṯaynVšumā / ṯaynVšumay	*ṯaynVšum(ū)
3^rd person f	*ṯaynVša	ṯaynVšumā / ṯaynVšumay	*ṯaynVšin(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: *ṯaynuya for nom. case, *ṯayniya for gen. case, *ṯaynaya for acc. case, etc.

Descendants

East Semitic:
- Akkadian: 𒍒𒎌 f pl (KAŠ₃.MEŠ /⁠šīnātu⁠/, “urine”)
West Semitic:
- Central Semitic:
  - ⇒ Arabic: مَثَانَة (maṯāna, “bladder”)
  - Northwest Semitic:
    - Aramaic:
      - Classical Syriac: ܬܘܢܐ (tūnā), ܬܝܢܐ (tyānā), ܬܝܢܐ (tīnā), ܬܝܢܬܐ (tyāntā)
    - Canaanite:
      - Biblical Hebrew: שַׁיִן (šáyin, “urine”)
    - Ugaritic: 𐎘𐎐𐎚 f (ṯnt /⁠*ṯēnatu⁠/)
- Ethiopian Semitic:
  - Amharic: ሽንት (šənt)
  - Ge'ez: ሥንት f (śənt)
  - Tigre: ሽን (šən)

References

Corriente, Federico, Pereira, Christophe, Vicente, Angeles, editors (2017), Dictionnaire du faisceau dialectal arabe andalou. Perspectives phraséologiques et étymologiques (in French), Berlin: De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 1179
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 227, state, in contrast to the present assumption, that the nouns in the individual Semitic languages are deverbal from *ṯayan- (“to urinate”), but comparatively the term for the bodily fluid is more likely to be an archaism while verbs designating its flow are denominal, cf. Proto-Germanic *harnaz and Latin ūrīna and Proto-Semitic *dam- f (“blood”) and Proto-Germanic *blōþijaną (“to bleed”), and also Arabic مَثَانَة (maṯāna, “bladder”) is a noun of place more likely meaning a place where “urine” is held than being named after the action of urinating (which is not attested from this root in Arabic, but would anyway appear denominal as تَبَوَّلَ (tabawwala, “to urinate”) is, so we can assume the same in Proto-Semitic)