Reconstruction:Proto-Sino-Tibetan/tsil

Etymology

 * Proto-Sino-Tibetan: ?
 * Proto-Tibeto-Burman: *tsil (Matisoff, STEDT; Chou, 1972)

Old Chinese possibly derives from this root, although the initials do not match. According to Schuessler (2007), words belonging to phonetic series generally show a velar initial in Old Chinese. However, in modern Min varieties they sometimes have multiple reflexes, some of which retain the original velar, while others exhibit a palatalization:


 * > zhǐ,   (POJ chí) (? < 🇨🇬).
 * > zhǐ,   (POJ kí) or  (POJ chái) (? < 🇨🇬 respectively).

Earliest layers of Min have escaped the first palatalization of velars, dated by Schuessler (2010) to the period, so it is generally assumed that Proto-Min separated from mainstream Chinese before that time (Baxter-Sagart, 2014: 33). Therefore these multiple reflexes in phonetic series suggest that it originally had an initial velar stop, but underwent an early palatalization so early in the  period  that it could also be used to write words with dental initials (Schuessler, 2007). This could explain the difficulty in reconstructing the nature of the initial segment of Old Chinese.

In Sino-Tibetan languages words meaning “grease, fat” can be reconstructed with the final *-il in PTB, but their initial consonants are not easy to reconcile with the Chinese comparandum, e.g. 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, but see also 🇨🇬 (Schuessler, 2007).

Noun

 * 1) fat, grease
 * 2) oil

Descendants

 * Old Chinese:  (B-S),  (ZS) ("fat, grease")
 * Middle Chinese: tsyij  ("fat, grease")


 * Modern Mandarin
 * Beijing:
 * Yue
 * Cantonese:
 * Min Nan
 * Xiamen:
 * Tangut-Qiang
 * Northern Tangut
 * Qiangic
 * Pumi:
 * Himalayish
 * Tibeto-Kanauri
 * Western Himalayish
 * Kanauri:
 * Bodic
 * Tibetan
 * Written, ; ;
 * Lolo-Burmese-Naxi
 * Lolo-Burmese:
 * *tsu¹ (Matisoff, 1978)
 * Loloish:
 * *tsi¹ (Bradley, 1979)
 * Yi:
 * Burmish
 * Burmish