Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/būṣ-

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

*būṣ- m

sedge, rush, reed, flax, any fibrous plant in the form of long grass and product thereof

Inflection

Declension of *būṣ-
case	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*būṣum	*būṣāna	plural stem + *-ūna
accusative	*būṣam	*būṣayna	plural stem + *-īna
genitive	*būṣim	*būṣayna	plural stem + *-īna

possessive forms
1^st person	būṣī / būṣVya	—	*būṣVni
2^nd person m	*būṣVka	būṣVkumā / būṣVkumay	*būṣVkum(ū)
2^nd person f	*būṣVki	būṣVkumā / būṣVkumay	*būṣVkin(ā)
3^rd person m	*būṣVšu	būṣVšumā / būṣVšumay	*būṣVšum(ū)
3^rd person f	*būṣVša	būṣVšumā / būṣVšumay	*būṣVšin(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: *būṣuya for nom. case, *būṣiya for gen. case, *būṣaya for acc. case, etc.

Derived terms

Proto-Semitic: *biṣbūṣ- (“horsetail, Equisetum spp.”)
- West Semitic:
  - Central Semitic:
    - Aramaic:
      Jewish Literary Aramaic, Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: בִּטְבּוּט (biṭbūṭ), שְׁבַטְבִּיטָא (šəḇaṭbīṭā) (contaminated with שִׁבְטָא (šiḇṭā, “staff, rod”))
      - Classical Syriac: ܫܒܰܛܒܴ݁ܛܳܐ (šəḇaṭbāṭā) (contaminated with ܫܰܒܛܳܐ (šabṭā, “staff, rod”))
      - → Arabic: بَطْبَاط (baṭbāṭ), شَبَطْبَاط (šabaṭbāṭ)
      - → Hebrew: בְּטְבָּט (b'tbát, bəṭbāṭ), בִּטְבּוּט (bitbút, biṭbûṭ), שְׁבַטְבָּט (sh'vatbát, šəḇaṭbāṭ)
    - Canaanite:
      - Hebrew: בִּצְבּוּץ (bitsbúts, biṣbûṣ), שְׁבַצְבָּץ (sh'vatsbáts, šəḇaṣbāṣ), שְׁבַצְבּוּץ (sh'vatsbúts, šəḇaṣbûṣ) (contaminated with שֵׁבֶט (shévet, šḗḇeṭ, “staff, rod”))
Proto-Semitic: *būṣīn-
- East Semitic:
  - Akkadian: 𒄑𒁍𒍢𒅔 (būṣīnnum, “mullein, a plant (Verbascum); wick, lamp”)
- West Semitic:
  - Central Semitic:
    - Aramaic:
      Jewish Literary Aramaic, Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: בּוּצִינָא (būṣīnā, bōṣīnā, “a young pumpkin; lamp”)
      - Classical Mandaic: ࡁࡅࡑࡉࡏࡀ (būṣīnā, “pumpkin”)
      - Classical Syriac: ܒܾ݁ܘܨܺܝܢܳܐ (būṣīnā, “wick, candle; pumpkin, gourd; mullein”)
        → Old Armenian: բուծին (bucin, “candle wick”)
        
        → Khotanese: 𑀩𑀽𑀰𑀻𑀦𑁃 (būśīnai, “byssus”)
        
        → Middle Persian:
        Book Pahlavi script: 𐮱𐮵𐮿𐯍𐮲𐮵𐮰 (𐮱𐮵𐮿𐯍𐮲𐮵𐮰 /⁠bōzīnʾ⁠/), 𐮱𐮿𐯍𐮲𐮵𐮷 (𐮱𐮿𐯍𐮲𐮵𐮷 /⁠buzīnag⁠/, “a kind of cucumber, cintron”)
    - Canaanite:
      - Hebrew: בּוּצִין (butsín, bûṣîn)
Proto-Semitic: *būṣīr-
- West Semitic:
  - Central Semitic:
    - Arabic: بُوصِير (būṣīr, “mullein”)

Descendants

East Semitic:
- Akkadian: 𒁍𒌋𒋗 (būṣum, “byssus”)
West Semitic:
- Central Semitic:
  - Arabic: بُوص (būṣ, “reed”)
  - Northwest Semitic:
    - Aramaic:
      Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: בּוּצָא (būṣā, “byssus”)
      - Classical Syriac: ܒܾ݁ܘܨܳܐ (būṣā, “byssus”)
    - Canaanite:
      - Hebrew: בּוּץ (buts, bûṣ, “byssus”)
        → Ancient Greek: βύσσος (bússos, “flax, linen, cotton, silk”), βῠ́σσᾰ (bŭ́ssă)
        → Ge'ez: ቢሶስ (bisos), ብሶስ (bəsos), ቡሱስ (busus), በሱስ (bäsus), ብሲስ (bəsis), ብሱስ (bəsus), ቢሶን (bison, “fine green linen”)
        ⇒ Ge'ez: ቢስንሶ (bisənso, “green”)
        → Tigrinya: ቢሶ (biso, “green leather, velvet”)
        → Gothic: 𐌱𐍅𐍃𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌽 (bwssaun)
        → Latin: byssus, bissus
        Translingual: Byssus
        → Old Uyghur: 𐽼𐽳𐽴 (böz)
        
        ⇒ Byzantine Greek: βυσσίνη (bussínē)
        → Arabic: بُزْيُون (buzyūn, “a kind of piece of fine silk for clothing”)
        ⇒? Arabic: بَزّ (bazz, “cloth”)
→ Old Armenian: *բեեզ (*beez, “fine linen”), բեհեզ (behez), բեհէզ (behēz)
- → Armenian: բեհեզ (behez)
- → Old Georgian: ზეეზი (zeezi), ზეჰეზი (zehezi), ზელეზი (zelezi), ზეზი (zezi)
- →? Arabic: بَزّ (bazz, “cloth”)
  - → Azerbaijani: bəz
  - → Ottoman Turkish: بز (bez), պէզ (bez) — Armeno-Turkish
    - Turkish: bez
    - → Crimean Tatar: böz
      - → Chuvash: пӳс (püs)
    - → Laz: ბეზი (bezi)
    - → Russian: бязь (bjazʹ), безь (bezʹ)
    - → Serbo-Croatian:
      Cyrillic script: бе̏з
      Latin script: bȅz
  - → Middle Mongol: ᠪᠥᠰ (bös) (probably via a Turkic language)
    - ⇒ Mongolian: бөс (bös)
      - → Manchu: ᠪᠣᠰᠣ (boso)
        → Nanai: босо (boso)
        → Nivkh: пос (pos)
  - → Old Italian: albagio
    - →? Campidanese: orbaci (either via Old Italian or directly from Arabic)
      - → Italian: orbace
    - →? Logudorese: arvatze (either via Old Italian or directly from Arabic)
    - →? Nuorese: orbace (either via Old Italian or directly from Arabic)
→? Ottoman Turkish: بوغاسی (boğası, “a kind of twilled high-quality cotton used for garments, or particularly their linings”), بوغاصی (boğası), بوحاسی (bohası) (see there for further descendants)
→ Uyghur: böz (“cotton cloth”)

References

Leslau, Wolf (1987), Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic), Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, reprinted 1991, 1997 and 2006, page 110
Löw, Immanuel (1916), “Schachtelhalm und Schwaden”, in Orientalistische Literaturzeitung (in German), volume 19, number 12, columns 353a–360b