On the etymology of Tocharian A śemäl ‘domestic animal’

Abstract

Abstract The Tocharian languages show an extensive array of animal names, some of which are still in want of an etymology or even a precise definition. In this paper, I undertake an in‑depth study of the Tocharian A (TA) noun śemäl, which has been translated as ‘goat’, ‘sheep’, or ‘small livestock’. First, I examine every instance of this lexeme within the Tocharian corpus to establish the precise meaning. This study confirms that śemäl refers to domestic animals regardless of their size, as well as animals used in sacrificial rituals. In the second part of the paper, I review previous etymological proposals, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses with respect to phonology, morphology, and semantics. I then propose my own account of the etymology of śemäl as an appurtenance derivative of an abstract derived from the well‑attested Proto‑Indo‑European item *ḱéi̯‑mo‑ ‘(at) home’, also reflected in Germanic (PGmc. *haimaz), Balto‑Slavic (reshaped as an ā‑stem in OCS sěmьja f. ‘family’), and, if the form to be reconstructed is actually *tḱéi̯‑mo‑, also in Indo‑Iranian (Skt. kṣema‑ m./n. ‘secure living’). TA śemäl, derived with the appurtenance suffix *‑lo‑ from an *-i-stem abstract, would have meant ‘belonging to the household’, hence the meaning ‘domestic (animal)’.