This chapter presents reconstructions of POc verbs for acts performed with the body or its parts that do not readily fit into the volume’s other chapters. It is, in a sense, a collection of leftovers, but it is a collection that has lessons to teach us.
Terminological reconstruction uses the terminologies of present-day speakers of Oceanic languages as the basis for constructing a hypothesis about the semantic structure of a corresponding POc terminology. This is relatively easy to do if we are reconstructing a set of nouns, like terms for the parts of a canoe (vol.1, ch.7) or the parts of the human body (this volume, ch.3), as these are objects or entities that can be identified visually. It is more difficult when the terms to be reconstructed consist of classes of objects or entities, and class boundaries are determined by cultural and environmental factors, as is true, for example, of plant (vol.3, ch.3) and animal taxonomies (vol.4, chs.3 and 8), of the times of the day (vol.2:294–304), and of human age cohorts (this volume, §2.4.1).
Such classifications differ from one part of the world to another, and sometimes differ across Oceanic communities too. But these classifications can often also be related to objects or entities that have material existence. Verbs, however, denote events and states. Some of the semantic distinctions they make relate to events with physical components (‘winds blow’, ‘people urinate’), but others are more abstract. The more abstract they are, the more careful we need to be not to assume that distinctions encoded by English verbs are similarly encoded by verbs in Oceanic languages and the more semantic change we find reflected across Oceanic cognate sets. To draw examples from this short chapter, Oceanic languages tend to encode ‘beckon’ and ‘wave’ by the same verbs (§7.3.1), and this is also true of ‘slap’ and ‘clap’ (§7.4.1). Acts of washing in Oceanic languages defy single-verb English translations (§7.6).
The somewhat abstract nature of verb meanings means that the internal classification and even the grammatical encoding of a whole domain may be quite different from its classification and encoding in English. For example, many Oceanic languages use serial verb constructions to encode movement, thereby partitioning meanings into manner of movement, geographic direction of movement, and deictic direction of movement (vol.2:256–283 and this volume, §§6.3–6.4), with verbs (or directional morphemes) that occupy each slot in the construction.
A second effect of the abstract nature of verb meanings, however, is that verbs cannot always be neatly assigned to terminologies, as they sometimes overlap more than one semantic domain. Verbs meaning ‘wait’ and ‘hide’ both have a location component. In this they resemble the posture verbs discussed in §6.2, but neither has a posture component. Instead, ‘wait’ has a component of expectation which in certain contexts allows interpretation as a verb of cognition (ch.10), whilst intransitive ‘hide’ resembles a location verb (§6.2) and transitive ‘hide’ a putting verb (§6.6.3.1), but both entail the element of concealment from certain people.
Most of the verbs in this section are verbs that defy neat assignment. Verbs of working (§7.2.2) arguably belong with the verbs associated with horticultural practices (vol.1:129–134), as POc speakers—unsurprisingly—had no concept corresponding to ‘work’ in its western sense. The closest equivalent was ‘work in the food garden’. The pair of verbs meaning ‘clap hands’ and ‘slap with open hand’ in §7.4.1 properly belongs with verbs of hitting in vol.1:267–274, and is a corrigendum in the light of more data to a reconstruction presented there.
All the reconstructions in this chapter denote physical acts, beginning in §7.2 with the most general of these, verbs of doing and working. Then follow two sections on actions done with the hand or arm: beckoning, waving, fanning, seizing and taking hold of, and grasping and holding (§7.3), clapping, slapping and tickling (§7.4). Section 7.5 contains verbs of stamping and treading on, these being the only foot and leg actions that do not fit neatly into manner-of- movement verbs in §6.3. Section 7.6 similarly deals with actions in water that do not belong in the Oceanic manner-of-movement category. Section 7.7 contains the verbs of waiting and hiding briefly discussed above.
Probably every Oceanic language has a verb meaning ‘do’. Its most common use is with a nominal object denoting an activity, especially in phrases meaning ‘do work’. In many languages it also occurs in the question ‘What are you doing?’ but this usage is somewhat less widespread, as a number of Oceanic languages have an interrogative verb ‘do what?’.
It is clear that POc *pai(t)/*pait-i- can be reconstructed, but it is striking that there are large geographic gaps in the distribution of its reflexes, pointing to widespread lexical replacement leading to numerous local cognate sets but none that unambiguously reconstructs to PROc, PEOc or PWOc, let alone POc. This is probably a result of the fact that in ‘do’ + nominal syntagms, ‘do’ is frequent and typically unstressed. It is therefore subject to phonological reduction which encourages replacement. There is, for example, a scattering of forms with the template *gV: Takia (NNG) -ga[ne], Iduna (PPT) -ga, Nakanai (MM) igo, all meaning ‘do, make’, and Tolo (SES) ago ‘work’, but their monosyllabicity and the mismatches among their vowels suggest that they could readily be due to independent parallel development.
| PCEMP | *bai(t) | ‘do, make’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *pai(t), *pait-i- | ‘do, make’ (ACD: *pai) | |
| Adm | Baluan | pe | ‘make, cause’ |
| Adm | Lou | pe | ‘do, make’ |
| NNG | Sio | vet- | ‘make, do’ |
| NNG | Numbami | pai | ‘do, make’ |
| NNG | Mengen | bai | ‘do’ (ba-vai durative) |
| PT | Molima | vei, ve- | ‘become, to turn into s.t. else’ |
| PT | Iamalele | vai, vai- | ‘do’ |
| MM | Lihir | pec | ‘do work’ |
| MM | Ramoaaina | pet | [VT] ‘do, make, cause’ |
| MM | Tolai | pait | [VT] ‘do, make, work, effect’ |
| PNCV | *vai, *vei | ‘make, do, be’ (Clark 2009) | |
| NCV | Tolomako | vei | ‘do, action’ |
| NCV | Valpei | vei | ‘make, do’ |
| NCV | Kiai | ve, vei- | ‘make, do, kill’ |
| NCV | Tamambo | vai | ‘make, do, be’ |
| NCV | Nduindui | vai | ‘make, do, be’ |
| NCV | Ambae | vai | ‘make, do, be’ |
| NCV | Tape | ve | ‘do, make, cause’ |
| NCV | Naman | ve | ‘make, do; happen; be’ |
| NCV | Neve’ei | vi | ‘be, copula; cause, do, make’ |
| NCV | Lonwolwol | we | ‘be, become’ |
| NCV | Paamese (North) | vī | ‘be, have’ |
| NCV | Paamese (South) | vē | ‘be, have’ |
| NCV | Lewo | ve | ‘be, exist’ |
| NCV | Nguna | vei | ‘be’ |
| NCV | Nguna | vai-vai-ki | ‘perform, depict in play’ |
| PPn | *fai | ‘do, make’ (POLLEX) | |
| Pn | Tongan | fai | ‘do, attend to, carry out, carry on with, engage in, perform; tell, utter’ |
| Pn | Niuean | fai | ‘make’ |
| Pn | Samoan | fai | ‘do, make, become; say’ |
| Pn | Rennellese | hai | ‘do, get, act as, represent, have, own’ |
| Pn | Tikopia | fai | ‘make, do, prepare, produce, have’ |
| Pn | Tokelauan | fai | ‘happen, become’ |
| Pn | Tuvalu | fai | ‘do, make’ |
Pre-contact Oceanic languages had no term for ‘work’ in its Western senses of ‘work as opposed to leisure’ or ‘work as gainful employment’. The closest concept, and one the term for which has in some languages been extended to include gainful employment, is that of labouring in the garden to grow food crops, and especially working to clear land for a garden.
The POc verb for ‘work in the food garden’ was identical in form to the noun for ‘food garden’ (vol.1:117–118), *quma.
| PAn | *qumah | ‘swidden; work a swidden’ (ACD) | |
| PMP | *quma | ‘swidden; work a swidden’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *quma | [N] ‘food garden’; [V] ‘clear land for a food garden, work in a food garden’ (ACD) | |
| NNG | Gitua | ɣumʷa | ‘work in garden’ |
| NNG | Kove | umo | ‘work in garden’ |
| NNG | Maleu | kumo | ‘do work’ |
| NNG | Atui | kum | ‘do work’ |
| NNG | Avau | kumu | ‘do work’ |
| NNG | Bebeli | kumu-mu | ‘do work’ |
| NNG | Kaulong | kum | ‘do work’ |
| NNG | Mangseng | um | ‘work with your hands’ |
| NNG | Mangseng | umo-ŋ | [N] ‘work’ |
| NNG | Mengen | kume | ‘prepare a garden’ |
| NNG | Uvol | um-ume | ‘do work’ |
| NNG | Adzera | -gum | ‘do work’ |
| MM | Roviana | uma | ‘make a garden’ |
| SES | Gela | uma | ‘clear away the bushes in making a garden’ |
| SES | Arosi | umʷa | ‘weed a garden’ |
| PNCV | *qumʷa | ‘work, clear land’ | |
| NCV | Mota | umʷa | ‘clear away growth from a garden, first stage of preparation’ |
| NCV | Raga | uma | ‘division in garden’ |
| NCV | Sakao | yøm | ‘to work’ |
| NCV | Uripiv | -um | ‘clear the ground’ |
| NCV | Paamese | umo | ‘to work’ |
| NCV | Lewo | yuma | ‘clear scrub from garden’ |
| NCV | Lewo | yumʷa-e | ‘to work’ |
| NCV | Apma | umʷa | ‘keep garden clear of weeds’ |
| NCV | North Ambrym | om | ‘work’ |
| NCV | Namakir | ʔum | ‘cut grass, clear bush’ |
| NCV | Nguna | uma | ‘cut bush, clear land’ |
| Fij | Wayan | uma(ni) | ‘turn the soil over’ |
The terms for ‘food garden’ in three MM languages are nominalisations formed with the nominalising infix *⟨in⟩ and *quma, indicating that in the early MM linkage, *quma was a verb meaning ‘make a garden’. The three forms that reflect *q⟨in⟩uma ‘garden’ are Bulu ɣ⟨in⟩uma, Kia (n-un)uma and Roviana (in)uma, all ‘food garden’.
A second term for working in the garden is found in a number of PT languages and MM languages of northern New Ireland which appears to reflect WOc *pai-sok, *pai-sok-i ‘plant (tuber +)’.
| PWOc | *pai-sok, *pai-sok-i | ‘plant (tuber +)’ | |
| PT | Kilivila | paisewa | ‘work’ |
| PT | Gumawana | paisewe | ‘work at’ |
| PT | Dobu | paisewa | ‘work’ |
| PT | Bunama | paihowa | ‘do, make, work, create’ |
| PT | Iamalele | faisewa | ‘work’ (borrowed from Dobu?) |
| PT | Iduna | -faisewa- | ‘work’ |
| MM | Lavongai | aisok | ‘do work’ |
| MM | Tigak | aisok | ‘do work’ |
| MM | East Kara | faisok | ‘do work’ |
The etymology of these terms is complex and not entirely clear. Their shape suggests that they reflect a compound, as morpheme-internal *-ai- is not a usual part of the POc phonological template. An obvious candidate for the first morpheme is POc *pai(t) ‘do, make’, reconstructed above in §7.2.1. However, the MM forms bear an obvious resemblance to the set reflecting POc *paso(k), *pasok-i below, an expanded version of the set in vol.1:132. POc *paso(k) has a history as a unitary morpheme, and to account for PWOc *pai-sok, folk etymologising must be assumed, whereby *paso(k) was reanalysed as *pa-(a)so(k), consisting of *pa-, the POc causativiser, and the root POc *asok ‘plant in holes in the ground’ (ACD).1 The prefix *pa- was then replaced by *pai-.
| PAn/PMP | *pasek | ‘wooden nail, dowel; drive in, as a wooden nail, dowel, or fencepost’ (ACD) | |
| PCEMP | *pasek | ‘drive in, as a stake; to plant (crops)’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *paso(k), *pasok-i | ‘plant (tuber +); drive in (wooden nail +)’ | |
| Adm | Baluan | pat | [V] ‘plant’ |
| NNG | Gedaged | pae | [V] ‘plant’ |
| NNG | Malai | vazogi | ‘plant (tuber +)’ |
| NNG | Gitua | va-vazok | ‘plant (tuber +)’ |
| NNG | Hote | vaðo | ‘plant (by making hole in the ground)’ |
| PT | Tawala | waɣo | ‘plant by pushing into the ground; strike a cutting’ |
| PT | Hula | varo | ‘plant (tuber +)’ |
| PT | Motu | hado | ‘plant (tuber +)’ |
| MM | Bali | vazoɣi | ‘plant (tuber +)’ |
| MM | Bola | varo | ‘plant (tuber +)’ |
| MM | West Kara | fasu | ‘plant (tuber +)’ |
| MM | Nalik | fasu | ‘plant (tuber +)’ |
| NCV | Mota | was | ‘drive a hole, make a hole by hammering in some tool’ |
| PMic | *faSo, *faSok-i | ‘plant; planted; a planted thing’ (Bender et al. 2003) | |
| Mic | Kiribati | arok-a | ‘a plant, cultivated plants’ |
| Mic | Chuukese | fɔtuk-i | ‘plant (s.t.)’ |
| Mic | Puluwatese | fɔt | [V] ‘plant, insert, pick out, select; be inserted, selected’ |
| Mic | Woleaian | fat | [N] ‘plant’ |
| Mic | Woleaian | fatox-i | [VT] ‘plant it, put it in place’ |
| Mic | Ponapean | pɔt | ‘be planted’ |
| Mic | Ponapean | pɔtok | ‘plant (s.t.)’ |
There remains the question of the origin of the apparent PT reflexes of PWOc *pai-sok listed above. First, a majority of PT languages reflects an innovation whereby *-a is added after a PWOc final consonant, i.e. PWOc *paisok > *paisoka. There is also a tendency for *k to become *kʷ next to a rounded vowel, hence *paisokʷa. Medial *-k- was deleted through lenition, giving *paisowa, the form reflected by Bunama paihowa. Finally, vowel unrounding adjacent to a rounded consonant (*w, *kʷ etc) is widespread in PT, giving *paisewa.
Hand and arm actions for which reconstructions are given in this section include beckoning and waving (often the same verb), fanning, taking hold of, seizing by force, and holding something in one’s hand. Verbs meaning ‘point (at)’ are not given here but are listed as part of the cognate set supporting POc *tusu- (N) ‘forefinger’; *tusuq-i- (VT) ‘point at’ in §3.6.8.2.
POc speakers perhaps had two beckoning gestures. In one, the hand was extended palm down, in the other, hand up. In traditional Oceanic societies (and in SE Asia), the beckoning palm down is the polite gesture, whilst beckoning palm up, European-style, particularly with an extended forefinger, is considered rude. There are a few indications among the glosses of reflexes (Babatana, Longgu, Marshallese) that POc *qalo(p), *qalop-i- denoted beckoning with the palm down. However, it seems possible that it also had the generic meaning of waving or making hand gestures.
Alongside POc *qalo(p) we also find *ta(Ra)-qalo(p) (VI) ‘beckon, wave’. The function of the prefixed element is not understood,2 and it is not clear how the prefixed and intransitive unprefixed forms differ in meaning.
| PAn/PMP | *qalep | ‘beckon, wave’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *qalo(p), *qalop-i- | ‘beckon with the palm downward, wave’ | |
| Adm | Seimat | aloh-i | [VT] ‘beckon’ |
| Adm | Lou | al-alɔp | ‘wave for help’ |
| NNG | Manam | alo-i | ‘beckon’ |
| NNG | Mangap | -koolo | ‘make hand sign to come, beckon to come’ |
| MM | Babatana | kalopo, kalip-i | [VI, VT] ‘beckon using hand with palm down’ |
| MM | Maringe | kaflo | ‘wave, beckon’ (metathesis?) |
| SES | Bugotu | aðo-aðo, aðov-i | ‘beckon, signal’ |
| SES | Gela | alo, alov-i | [VI, VT] ‘beckon’ |
| SES | Tolo | kalopi- | ‘wave to someone to call them, beckon’ |
| SES | Longgu | alo-alo, alo- | [VI, VT] ‘beckon s.o.; call s.o. without speaking; wave s.o. down’ |
| SES | Lau | alof-i- | ‘beckon with the hand’ |
| SES | Kwaio | lalof-i- | ‘beckon by waving the hand’ |
| SES | Sa’a | salo, saloh-i | [VI, VT] ‘beckon, invite with signs’ |
| SES | Arosi | aro, aroh-i | [VI, VT] ‘beckon with the hand’ |
| PNCV | *qalov-i | ‘beckon, wave’ (Clark 2009) | |
| NCV | Mota | alov-aɣ | ‘beckon to, invite, greet, by signs’ |
| NCV | Araki | alov-i | ‘beckon, wave to s.o.’ |
| NCV | Raga | alov-i | ‘beckon, wave’ |
| NCV | Tamambo | alov-i | ‘beckon, wave’ |
| NCV | Paamese | aleh-e | ‘wave to s.o. to come; beckon’ |
| NCV | Uripiv | -luv | ‘beckon’ |
| NCV | Namakir | (bi)ʔalov | ‘wave’ |
| NCV | Nguna | alo-alo, aluv-i | [VI, VT] ‘beckon to’ |
| PMic | *[alo]alo, *alo[f]-i | ‘wave, beckon’ (Bender et al. 2003) | |
| Mic | Kiribati | ano-ano, ano[i]- | [VI, VT] ‘beckon to s.o.’ |
| Mic | Marshallese | (ceyya)halᶭ | ‘beckon with downward motion of hand or by waving arm’ |
| Mic | Ponapean | ɔlɔ-ɔl, ɔlɛ | [VI, VT] ‘wave, signal’ to s.o.’ |
| Mic | Mokilese | (cei)ɔ̄l, (cei)ɔ̄li | [VI, VT] ‘wave at s.o.’ |
| Fij | Bauan | yalo, yalov-a | ‘beckon’ |
| Fij | Wayan | alo, alov-i- | [VI, VT] ‘wave to s.o. or s.t.’ |
| Fij | Wayan | alovi- mai | ‘beckon s.t., signal s.t. to come’ |
| Pn | Niuean | alo | ‘beckon, signal’ |
| Pn | Takuu | arof-āki | ‘beckon’ |
| Pn | Māori | aro-arof-aki | ‘a motion of hands in dance’ |
| POc | *ta(Ra)-qalo(p), *ta(Ra)-qalop-i- | ‘beckon, wave’ | |
| Adm | Titan | ta-kalo | [VI] ‘beckon, wave’ |
| Fij | Wayan | tā-[y]alo | [VI] ‘signal by waving either to beckon or say goodbye, with the fingers of the extended hand curled down’ |
| Fij | Wayan | tā-alovi-, tā-aloti- | [VT] ‘wave to s.o.’ |
| PPn | *ta-qalo, *ta-qalof-i- | ‘beckon, signal with the hand’ (POLLEX) | |
| Pn | Tongan | ta-ʔalo | [VI] ‘wave or beckon with the hand’ |
| Pn | East Uvean | ta-ʔalo | ‘make signs with the hand’ |
| Pn | Samoan | ta-alo | ‘wave, signal, beckon’ |
| Pn | Tikopia | ta-aro | ‘beckon’ |
| Pn | West Uvea | ta-alof-ia | ‘call by sign’ |
| Pn | Tuvalu | ta-alo | ‘wave the hand’ |
| Pn | Pukapukan | ta-alo | ‘beckon, indicate to come’ |
POc *kamo(t), *kamot-i- may have denoted the impolite beckoning style, with the palm turned up and forefinger extended, but this is attested only by the Kove gloss. In Polynesian languages reflexes of this term denote both hand and eye signals. The Rennellese reflex denotes the polite beckoning style, but this may be the result of an extension in meaning from impolite beckoning to hand and eye signals in general.
| POc | *kamo(t), *kamot-i- | ‘signal with the hand, beckon (with the palm upward ?)’ | |
| NNG | Bariai | kamo | ‘beckon, or gesture with the hand’ |
| NNG | Kove | kamo | ‘beckon with forefinger (palm up)’ |
| MM | Tinputz | kamot | ‘beckon’ |
| PPn | *kamo, *kamo-t-ia | ‘beckon; make sign with hand or eye’ (POLLEX: *kamo) | |
| Pn | Tongan | kamo | [VI] ‘beckon or make signs with eyes or hands’ |
| Pn | Tuvalu | kamo-kamo | ‘brief, sly wave’ |
| Pn | East Futunan | [kamo]kamo | ‘beckon’ |
| Pn | East Uvean | [kamo]kamo | ‘call by sign’ |
| Pn | Rennellese | kamo | ‘beckon with downward flap of hand’ |
| Pn | Tikopia | kamo | ‘wink, make signs with hand or eye’ |
| Pn | Pukapukan | kemo | ‘wink, blink once’ |
| Pn | Pukapukan | kemot-ia | ‘signal with eyes’ |
| Pn | Tongarevan | kamo | ‘wink; agree’ |
| Pn | Rarotongan | kamo | ‘blink, beckon, make a sign with the hand’ |
| Pn | Māori | kamo | ‘wink’ |
Blust (ACD) reconstructs PMP *away ‘beckon with the hand’ and PMP *kaway ‘wave the hand or arms; call by waving’. The morphological relationship between the two is uncertain: they may reflect the same Austronesian root (Blust 1988). A few Oceanic reflexes of *kaway are found, allowing reconstruction of POc *kawe ‘wave the hand’. There are also reflexes of an apparent POc *dawe, perhaps descended from a PMP form reflecting the same Austronesian root, but in the absence of non-Oceanic reflexes this can be reconstructed only to PNGOc.
| PMP | *kaway | ‘wave the hand or arms; call by waving’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *kawe | ‘wave the hand’ | |
| PT | Iduna | (-lau)yawe | ‘wave with the hand’ |
| PT | Sinaugoro | iave | [VT] ‘wave to, make sign to’ |
| PT | Sinaugoro | iave-iave | [VI] ‘fan’ |
| MM | Bola | kave | ‘wave’ |
| PNGOc | *dawe | ‘wave the hand’ | |
| NNG | Numbami | -ⁿdawe | ‘wave, wave (back and forth)’ |
| PT | Sinaugoro | dave | ‘wave’ |
The commonest fan in Oceanic speaking communities is probably one made from the coconut frond.
Reflexes of POc *iri(p), *irip-i- (V) ‘fan’ and its nominalisations are common in EOc languages. If the analysis of Lou tɛrip and Nyindrou taleh as reflexes of the root *irip, prefixed with *ta- SPONTANEOUS (§1.3.5.4), are correct, then the form *ta-irip-i- ‘fan oneself’ is reconstructable to POc. However, this analysis presupposes an early Oceanic form *ta-iripV in order to account for the retention of Lou and Nyindrou -p, and it is not clear why there should have been a final vowel here.
The final consonants of PMP *irid and POc *irip do not match, but the Oceanic evidence supports only *irip.3
There are no known WOc reflexes of *irip, which seems to have been replaced by PWOc *tapi (V) ‘fan’, reconstructed below.
| PMP | *irid | ‘fan’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *irip, *irip-i- | [V] ‘fan’ | |
| Adm | Lou | tɛrip | ‘fan oneself’ (< *ta-irip-i-) |
| Adm | Nyindrou | taleh | [V] ‘fan’ (< *ta-irip-i-) |
| SES | Kwaio | iluf-i- | [VT] ‘blow, fan’ |
| SES | ’Are’are | ereh-i- | ‘fan the fire’ |
| PNCV | *iri, *iriv-i- | [V] ‘fan’ | |
| PNCV | *iriv-irivi | [N] ‘fan’ | |
| NCV | Mota | riv-riv | [N] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Ambae | iri | [V] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Tolomako | iri | [V] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Raga | rive-rive | [V] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Raga | iri | [N] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Nokuku | iri- | [V] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Nokuku | iri | [N] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Uripiv | -riv-riv-i | [V] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Uripiv | ne-riv-riv | [N] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Port Sandwich | ri-rvi-si | [V] ‘fan’ (-s- unexplained) |
| NCV | Port Sandwich | rivi-riv | [N] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Neve’ei | riv-riv | [V] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Neve’ei | n-iriv | [N] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | West Ambrym | e-ri-ri | [N] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Paamese | lihi-lihi | ‘fan oneself’ |
| NCV | Paamese | ei-lihi-lihi | [N] ‘fan’ |
| NCV | Baki | rivi-riv | [N] ‘fan’ |
| PSV | *a-iri-iri | ‘fan’ | |
| SV | North Tanna | k-el-el | [N] ‘fan’ (k- INSTRUMENT) |
| SV | Whitesands | k-ei-eil | [N] ‘fan’ (k- INSTRUMENT) |
| SV | Lenakel | il-il | [V] ‘fan’ |
| SV | Lenakel | k-il-il | [N] ‘fan’ (k- INSTRUMENT) |
| SV | Southwest Tanna | k-il-il | [N] ‘fan’ (k- INSTRUMENT) |
| SV | Kwamera | eri-eri | [V] ‘fan’ |
| SV | Anejom̃ | er-ere-i | [V] ‘fan’ |
| PMic | *irip, *irip-i | [V] ‘fan’ | |
| Mic | Ponapean | iri-ir, iri-p | [VI, VT] ‘fan’ |
| Mic | Mokilese | irip | [VI, N] ‘fan’ |
| Mic | Mokilese | irip-i | [VT] ‘fan’ |
| Mic | Mortlockese | uru(pə) | [V] ‘fan’ |
| Mic | Satawalese | uru(pə) | [V] ‘fan’ |
| Mic | Ulithian | rɨ(pəɨ) | [V] ‘fan’ |
| Mic | Pulo Annian | ɨɾɨ(paɨ) | [V] ‘fan’ |
| Fij | Rotuman | iri | [V] ‘fan, (wind) blow’ |
| Fij | Bauan | iri | [VI] ‘fan’ |
| Fij | Bauan | iriv-a | [N] ‘fan’ |
| Fij | Wayan | iri | [VI] ‘be fanned’ |
| Fij | Wayan | iriv-i- | [VT] ‘fan s.t., blow air on s.t. by fanning’ |
| Pn | Tongan | ī | [V] ‘fan’ |
| Pn | Niuean | ili | [V] ‘fan; to swing, as a weapon’ |
| Pn | Samoan | ili | [N] ‘fan’; [V] ‘blow (of wind, horn)’ |
| Pn | Samoan | ilif-i-a | [V] ‘be blown’ |
| Pn | Rennellese | igi | [V] ‘fan’; [N] ‘coconut leaf fan’ |
| PWOc | *tapi | [V] ‘fan’ | |
| NNG | Takia | ti-tawi | ‘move or impel air with a fan’ |
| NNG | Mangseng | tep | ‘wave’ |
| PT | Gapapaiwa | tapi | ‘fan, wave, flap’ |
| MM | Nakanai | t⟨il⟩ave | [N] ‘fan’ (⟨il⟩ < *⟨in⟩ NOMINALISER) |
| MM | Patpatar | tah | [VT] ‘fan, beckon, wave hand to stop s.o.’ |
| MM | Ramoaaina | tap | [VT] ‘fan’ |
| MM | Ramoaaina | tap-tap | [N] ‘fan’ |
| MM | Sursurunga | tap-i- | [VT] ‘fan’ |
| MM | Teop | ta-tava | [N] ‘fan’ |
A good many Oceanic languages make a distinction between a verb meaning ‘take hold of’ and one meaning ‘hold’. POc verbs that evidently meant ‘hold’ are found in §7.3.4. POc *lawe meant ‘take hold of’, whilst POc *paRo appears to have denoted seizing something violently.
| POc | *lawe | ‘take hold of’ | |
| NNG | Mengen | lau-e | ‘catch , hold’ |
| SES | Longgu | lau-a | ‘grab s.t.’ |
| PPn | *lawe | ‘take hold of, lay hold of’ (POLLEX) | |
| Pn | Samoan | lāve- | ‘apply to, concern, affect’ |
| Pn | Samoan | lave-ia | ‘be attained, achieved’ |
| Pn | Pukapukan | lave | ‘take hold of’ |
| Pn | Mangarevan | rave | ‘grasp (only of tools)’ |
| Pn | Rarotongan | rave | ‘take, lay hold of’ |
| Pn | Tahitian | rave | ‘take, undertake’ |
| Pn | Tuamotuan | rave | ‘take, take hold of, grasp, snatch’ |
| Pn | Hawaiian | lawe | ‘take, accept, carry, bring’ |
| Pn | Māori | ra-rawe | ‘clasp tightly’ |
| POc | *paqaRo(k), *paqaRok-i- | ‘snatch, seize, rob’ (ACD: *paRo) | |
| MM | Tabar | paro | ‘hold’ |
| SES | Gela | valo | ‘rob openly, take and keep, refuse to return’ |
| PMic | *faro, *farok-i | ‘hold tightly’ (Bender et al. 2003: Proto Central Micronesian) | |
| Mic | Kiribati | aok-a | ‘deny or refuse (a request)’ |
| Mic | Marshallese | harek | ‘miserly, covetous, greedy, stingy,’ |
| Mic | Ponapean | parok | ‘catch s.t. animate, to arrest’ |
| Mic | Chuukese | fɔro(pac̣) | ‘embrace’ |
| Mic | Chuukese | fórus-i | ‘embrace him, strangle him, hang him’ |
| Mic | Carolinian | fore- | ‘hang oneself’ |
| Mic | Woleaian | faẓo | ‘be tight’ |
| Mic | Woleaian | faẓox-i- | ‘tie it tight, bind it, hug her’ |
| PPn | *paqao | ‘seize, take by force, rob’ (POLLEX) | |
| Pn | Tongan | faʔao | ‘grab, seize, take by force, confiscate’ |
| Pn | Samoan | fao | ‘snatch, seize, grab; rob (of belongings, money, spouse)’ |
| Pn | East Uvean | faʔao | ‘take by force, usurp, take hold of’ |
| Pn | Rennellese | haʔao | ‘take, capture, snatch, rob’ |
| Pn | Hawaiian | hao | ‘scoop or pick up; grasp, pillage, plunder; robber’ |
| Pn | Māori | fāō | ‘take greedily, devour’ |
Four verbs in the semantic domain ‘hold in the hand’ are reconstructed below. They are POc *qabi ‘take hold of, grasp’, POc *tau(r)/*taur-i- ‘hold (in hand)’, POc *poso ‘hold’, POc *gogo(m)/*gom-i ‘hold in the fist’. It is difficult to assign more precise meanings to them, but the meaning ‘hold in the fist’ for POc *gogo(m) is strengthened by that of non-Oceanic cognates.
Blust (ACD) reconstructs POc *qabi and POc *abi, both ‘take hold of, grasp’, and POc *abit ‘hold, get, take’, reflecting PMP *ambit ‘seize with the hands’. On the assumption that the cognate set below reflects a single POc form, the data attest POc *qabi(t), *qabit-i-. Root-final *-t is attested in the Lenakel forms.4 This suggests that the PMP reconstruction should be *qambit.
| PMP | *(q)ambit | ‘seize with the hands’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *qabi(t), *qabit-i- | ‘take hold of, grasp’ (ACD) | |
| NNG | Mindiri | kabi | ‘hold (in hand)’ |
| NNG | Gedaged | abi | ‘take hold of, grab, seize, grasp, clutch, take’ |
| NNG | Takia | -[a]bi- | ‘hold, grab, grasp, clutch, carry in hand, touch, trap, knead, squeeze out, sieve, strain, rape’ |
| NNG | Takia | -abi(tani) | ‘seize, grasp, keep, retain’ |
| NNG | Megiar | -abi | ‘hold (in hand)’ |
| NNG | Matukar | -abi | ‘hold (in hand)’ |
| NNG | Numbami | -abi | ‘hold, get, take’ |
| NNG | Yabem | kam | ‘hold (in hand)’ (k- for †∅-) |
| NNG | Kaiwa | -eb | ‘hold (in hand)’ |
| NNG | Sissano | -ɛp | ‘hold’ |
| PT | Kilivila | kabi | ‘hold, take hold of’ |
| PT | Molima | kapi | ‘hold’ |
| PT | Diodio | abi | ‘hold’ |
| PT | Iduna | -abi- | ‘hold, lay hands on’ |
| PT | Suau | ʔabi | ‘hold’ |
| PT | Saliba | kabi | ‘hold’ |
| PT | Magori | abi(tari) | ‘hold’ |
| PT | Sinaugoro | ɣabi(tari) | ‘seize, hold’ |
| PT | Sinaugoro | ɣabi(ɣero) | ‘carry (swing in the hand)’ |
| PT | Doura | api(kai) | ‘hold’ |
| PT | Lala | -ʔabi(akau) | ‘hold’ |
| PT | Gabadi | -abi- | ‘hold’ |
| PT | Kuni | -afi | ‘hold’ |
| PT | Mekeo | -afi- | ‘hold’ |
| MM | Nakanai | abi | ‘take, catch, get, hold’ (∅- for †h-) |
| MM | Nakanai | ab-abi | ‘carry in hand’ |
| MM | Nakanai | abi(gabuto) | ‘take or hold tentatively’ |
| MM | Bola | ɣabi- | ‘give’ |
| SV | Lenakel | a-pʷiit | ‘stick fast to, cleave to’ |
| SV | Lenakel | a-pʷiit(etai) | ‘hold fast, cling’ |
PMP *cekep ‘seize, grasp’ has just one known Oceanic reflex:
| PMP | *cekep | ‘seize, grasp’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *soko(p) | ‘seize, grasp’ | |
| PT | Motu | doɣo- | ‘seize, take hold of, restrain’ |
POc *tau(r), *taur-i- has well distributed reflexes and was perhaps the default POc term for ‘hold in the hand’.
| POc | *tau(r), *taur-i- | ‘hold in the hand’ | |
| NNG | Gitua | tol | ‘hold (in hand)’ |
| NNG | Malalamai | -ton | ‘hold (in hand)’ |
| PT | Dawawa | tau(didi) | ‘hold (tight, firm)’ |
| MM | Lavongai | teŋ | ‘hold (in hand)’ |
| MM | Tigak | ton | ‘hold (in hand)’ |
| MM | Tiang | toi | ‘hold (in hand)’ |
| MM | East Kara | təu-e | ‘hold (animate being)’ |
| MM | Barok | ton(sik) | ‘hold (in hand)’ |
| NCV | Mota | taur | ‘hold’ |
| NCV | Mwotlap | tɪy | ‘hold’ (< PNCV *tauri) |
| NCV | Merlav | tor | ‘hold’ |
| NCV | Dorig | tœr | ‘hold’ |
| NCV | Mafea | taur-i- | ‘hold’ |
| NCV | Sungwadaga | tor-i | ‘hold’ |
| NCV | Rerep | -tor-i | ‘hold’ |
| NCV | Uripiv | -tor-i | ‘hold’ |
| NCal | Iaai | kɔɔṭ | ‘hold’ |
| Mic | Kiribati | tau- | ‘seize, grasp, hold back, retain, hold’ |
| Mic | Kiribati | tau-tau | ‘engage in holding or retaining’ |
| Mic | Woleaian | tau | ‘be saved, preserved, kept’ |
| Fij | Bauan | taur-a | ‘hold’ |
POc *poso ‘hold’ has only two known reflexes, but given their exact correspondence and geographic distance from one another the term can be reconstructed to POc.
| POc | *poso | ‘hold’ | |
| Adm | Mussau | poso | ‘hold’ |
| MM | Babatana | poso | ‘hold in hand, hold onto’ |
It is important to distinguish between POc *gogo(m)/*gom-i ‘hold in the fist’ below and *gomu ‘hold in the mouth’, reconstructed in §4.3.5.3.
| PAn | *gemgem | ‘fist; hold in the fist’ | |
| POc | *gogo(m), *gom-i | ‘hold in the fist’ | |
| NNG | Sengseng | kom | ‘hold’ |
| NNG | Tami | gu-gum | ‘hold (in hand)’ |
| NNG | Yabem | (me)gom | ‘hold (in hand)’ |
| NNG | Numbami | gu-gum-i | ‘hold’ |
| MM | Torau | gomo- | ‘hold’ |
| TM | Tanibili | gomu | ‘hold’ |
| NCV | Lonwolwol | gomu | ‘hold’ |
| NCV | Banam Bay | -gum-i | ‘hold’ |
| NCal | Nêlêmwa | cimʷ-i | ‘hold’ |
| Fij | Wayan | gō | ‘grasp s.t., grab s.t., take s.t. in the hand’ |
| Fij | Wayan | gom-i- | ‘grasp s.t., envelop s.t., close the hand’ |
This section is concerned with acts that people perform on each other, again with the hands. Verbs of hitting are reconstructed in vol.1:271–274. Not all of these are typically used of hitting a fellow human being, but one that is is reconstructed afresh in §7.4.1 in the light of a much expanded data base. A term that might have found its way into this section is ‘stroke’ (in the sense of running one’s hand over part of another’s body), but the only relevant POc reconstruction is *samo(s), *samos-i- ‘massage, stroke’, reconstructed in §5.4.2.2. Reconstructing a verb for ‘tickle’ raises a formal challenge that is discussed in §7.4.2.
| POc | *pʷaja(R) | [VI] ‘clap hands’ | |
| POc | *pʷajaR-i- | [VT] ‘slap with open hand’ | |
| Adm | Mussau | posala | [VT] ‘slap with an open hand’ |
| Adm | Mussau | posalā | [VI] ‘clap’ |
| Adm | Baluan | (yek) pʊt | ‘slap, hit with open hand’ (yek ‘hit’) |
| Adm | Baluan | (yek) potpot | ‘clap the hands’ |
| NNG | Sissano | -pot | ‘clap , beat’ |
| NNG | Sio | poⁿza | ‘slap; clap one’s hands’ |
| NNG | Bariai | poda | ‘slap’ |
| NNG | Mangseng | (so)pðal | ‘slap’ |
| NNG | Mangseng | (so)po-pðal | ‘clap hands’ |
| PT | Gumawana | pʷasi | ‘clap’ |
| PT | Bunama | (lima)pʷasi | ‘clap hands’ |
| PT | Sinaugoro | foro | ‘slap, hit’ |
| MM | Madak | pasa | ‘clap’ |
| MM | Sursurunga | posar, posri | ‘slap, clap, hit with the open palm’ |
| MM | Patpatar | pasar | ‘slap; beat drum’ |
| MM | Ramoaaina | par | ‘clap ; slap, hit ; play (hourglass drum)’ |
| MM | Minigir | pasari | ‘hit’ |
| MM | Nehan | posala | ‘slap, especially on the back of the head’ (-l- for †-r-) |
| MM | Solos | pasan | ‘hit’ |
| MM | Teop | panana | ‘slap, hit’ |
| MM | Babatana | po-posara | ‘clap hands’ |
| SES | Tolo | pica-pica | ‘clap hands (together)’ |
| SES | Tolo | picali- | ‘spank; hit, slap or tap with open hand’ |
| SES | To’aba’ita | fida-fida | ‘clap one’s hands in applause’ |
| SES | To’aba’ita | fidal-i- | ‘slap hard’ |
| SES | Kwaio | fodal-i- | ‘slap’ |
| SES | Arosi | hida | ‘slap’ |
| SES | Arosi | (faʔa)hidar-i- | ‘slap’ |
| PNCV | *voza | ‘clap, slap, strike’ (Clark 2009) | |
| NCV | Mota | wosa | ‘slap, smack, clap’ |
| NCV | Raga | voha-i | ‘strike, throw, shoot’ |
| NCV | Raga | vosa | ‘slap (with one hand) once, clap hands together once’ |
| NCV | Tamambo | voja-i | ‘strike, slap’ |
| NCV | Tamambo | voja-voja-i (lima) | ‘clap, pat’ (lima ‘hand’) |
| NCV | Uripiv | -wuj-e | ‘smack, slap, pat’ |
| NCV | Big Nambas | -usa | ‘slap’ |
| NCV | Port Sandwich | voc-i | ‘strike with the hand, slap’ |
| NCV | Nguna | wosa+e-a | ‘clap (hands or flat objects)’ |
| NCV | Nguna | wosa-wosa | ‘clap one’s hands’ |
| Fij | Wayan | voða-, voða-ki | ‘slap s.t. with the open hand or hands together’ |
The collection of Oceanic items considered here is better described as a set of lookalikes than as a cognate set, as it includes instances where regular sound changes have simply not taken place and perhaps also instances where idiosyncratic changes have occurred. This appears to be the result of onomatopoeia, such that the overall shape of a word is retained but some phonological contrasts are unimportant. Clearly this was already the case in PMP, as Blust (ACD) reconstructs *kilik, *kirik, *kidi, *gidik and *giri, all ‘tickle’. The onomatopoeic template is clear: *KiRi(k), where *K is a velar stop, voiced or unvoiced, and *R is a voiced apical (PMP *l, *r or *d). These shapes survive remarkably well into Oceanic, despite the fact that PMP *k- and *g- regularly merge then split into POc *k- and *g- with a strong preference for POc *k-, whilst PMP *-d- and *-r- normally merge as POc *-r-. This implies that onomatopoeic terms for ‘tickle’ have not been affected by regular sound changes.
Partly as a means of simplifying presentation, I reconstruct POc forms below, but because regularity of sound change does not apply, there is no guarantee that a given item is directly descended from the reconstruction under which it is listed. It follows from this that there is also no guarantee that the reconstructions are correct, especially where there are fewer reflexes.
| PMP | *kilik | ‘tickle’ (ACD; ACD) | |
| POc | *kilik-i- | ‘tickle’ | |
| NNG | Mangap | -kilik | [VT] ‘tickle’ |
| MM | Patpatar | kilik | [VT] ‘tickle’ |
| MM | Ramoaaina | kilik | [VT] ‘tickle’ |
| MM | Tolai | kilik | [VT] ‘tickle’ |
| SES | Lau | kili-kili- | ‘tickle so as to make s.o. laugh’ |
| NCV | Tamambo | hili | [VT] ‘tickle s.o.’ |
| PMP | *kilik | ‘tickle’ (ACD; ACD) | |
| POc | *gili(k), *gilik-i- | ‘tickle’ | |
| NNG | Manam | gili | ‘tickle’ |
| PT | Dobu | gini | [VT] ‘tickle’ |
| MM | Sursurunga | gilik | [VI] ‘tickle’ |
| MM | Sursurunga | gilki- | [VT] ‘tickle’ |
| MM | Roviana | gili-gili- | ‘tickle’ |
| PMP | *kirik, *kidi, *gidik, *giri | ‘tickle’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *kiri(s), *kiris-i- | ‘tickle’ | |
| Adm | Nyindrou | (te)kere-ker | ‘tickle’ |
| MM | Kubokota | (si)kiri | ‘poke, tickle’ |
| SES | ’Are’are | kiri(pae-a) | ‘tickle’ |
| NCV | South Efate | kir-kis | [VI, VT] ‘tickle’ |
| Mic | Marshallese | kir-kir | [VI] ‘tickle’ |
| Mic | Marshallese | kir-kirey | [VT] ‘tickle s.o.’ |
| Fij | Bauan | kiri, kirið-a | ‘tickle under the armpits’ |
| MM | Maringe | (fa)ki-kili | ‘tickle’ |
| SES | Arosi | kiri-kiri | ‘tickle under the armpit’ |
The items listed under ‘cf. also’ immediately above may reflect either *kili(k) or *kiri(s).
The three putative POc forms above have reasonable support both from reflexes and from non-Oceanic cognates. But their root-final consonants are perhaps also significant. If the root-medial liquid is *-l-, then the root-final consonant is *-k, but if the root-medial liquid is *-r-, then the root-final consonant is *-s. This suggests two distinct early Oceanic templates, *Kilik and *Kiris.
There is a variety of other Oceanic forms that conform to one of these templates but reflect the ‘wrong’ protoform. The items below are shown with in the fifth column the POc forms they reflect if regular sound changes are applied. All the latter display medial *-d(r)-, but it seems somewhat unlikely that such protoforms ever occurred, as they would reflect PMP *Kindis, for which there is no evidence. The hypothetical forms in the sixth column are the forms expected if regular sound changes had applied to the template *Kiris. It is fairly obvious that Mussau kiri, Halia giri- and Paamese kir-kiris-i reflect the failure of a sound change to apply to the medial *-r-. Dawawa gidi perhaps reflects the formation of a new template *Kidi, which was also the antecedent of Mwotlap ɣin-ɣin. Voiced stops normally occur in Gapapaiwa only in loans from nearby PT languages, but gidi may reflect the presence of unusual sounds in an onomatopoeic item.
| Adm: | Mussau | kiri | ‘tickle’ | *kid(r)i | †kili |
| MM: | Halia | giri- | (VT) ‘tickle’ | *gid(r)i | †gili |
| NCV: | Paamese | kir-kiris-i | (VT) ‘tickle’ | *gid(r)is-i- | †kilis-i |
| PT: | Dawawa | gidi | ‘tickle’ | *gid(r)i | †giri |
| PT: | Gapapaiwa | gidi | ‘tickle’ | *gid(r)i | †kiri |
| NCV: | Mwotlap | ɣin-ɣin | ‘tickle’ | *kid(r)i | †ɣiy |
The two items below both reflect failure of a sound change to apply: POc *r > Nakanai *l, and POc *g > To’aba’ita *k.
| MM: | Nakanai | giri | ‘tickle’ | *gisi | †gili |
| SES: | To’aba’ita | gili- | (VT) ‘tickle’ | *dili | †kiri |
The items listed below are less easily explained, but they perhaps reflect the emergence of yet another templatic variant, *Kisi.
| MM: | Nehan | (uel)kis-kisi | ‘tickle’ | *kiti | †kiri |
| MM: | Teop | gisi-gisi | ‘tickle’ | *giti | †giri |
| SV: | Anejom | i-ɣiθi(luk) | (VI, VT) ‘tickle’ | *kisi | †ɣiri |
A good many actions of the feet and legs are obviously verbs of locomotion like ‘walk’, ’step’, ‘run’, ‘crawl’, ‘limp’ and ‘hop’, for which reconstructions are presented in §6.3, and ‘wade’ (§6.3.3.2). Dancing is an activity with substantial cultural associations in Oceanic communities, and belongs in vol.6. This section was planned to deal with the remainder: kicking, stamping and treading on. However, no cognate sets with the narrow meaning ‘kick’ have been found. When someone deliberately kicks something or someone, this is often expressed with ‘hit with the foot’, and some reflexes of verbs for stamping and treading on sometimes have as one of their senses ‘kick with the sole of the foot’. Hence the reconstructions in this section both relate to stamping and treading on: POc *paRas (VI) ‘step, tread’, *paRas-i- (VT) ‘step on, tread on’ and PEOc *butu (VI) ‘stamp foot, tread, kick’, *butuR-i- ‘stamp on, tread on, trample’.
| POc | *paRas | [VI] ‘step, tread’ | |
| POc | *paRas-i- | [VT] ‘step on, tread on’ (Geraghty 1990:66: PEOc *(p,v)aRa(c,z) ‘tread on, step on’) | |
| NNG | Mangap | -para(ama) | ‘hold by stepping on, stamp on’ |
| NNG | Mangap | -para(mut) | ‘stamp on, tread on, hurt by stepping on’ |
| NNG | Takia | -par | ‘step, pace, tread on’ |
| NNG | Sio | pale | ‘shove down with great force; step down into, onto’ |
| NNG | Mangseng | pa-pal | ‘step; boost; stand on’ |
| MM | Madak | vas | ‘step on’ |
| MM | Nehan | paraha | ‘put foot against something, place foot firmly’ |
| SES | Gela | pala-pala | ‘steps into a house’ |
| PNCV | *varas-i | ‘step on, step over’ | |
| NCV | Mota | vara | ‘tread, stamp, walk; measure by feet’ |
| NCV | Mota | varas | ‘trample on’ |
| NCV | Raga | vara | ‘step’ |
| NCV | Raga | varah-i | ‘step heavily, stamp (in dance etc); tread on, step in; straddle’ |
| NCV | Apma | vahr-i | ‘step heavily, stamp (in dance etc.)’ |
| NCV | Naman | veres | ‘step on’ |
| NCV | Uripiv | -ver | ‘kick’ |
| NCV | Uripiv | -veras-i | ‘step on, jump on’ |
| NCV | Port Sandwich | ves-i | ‘crush something by stepping on it’ |
| NCV | West Ambrym | vereh | ‘put foot on, tread on’ |
| NCV | Nguna | vāsi- | ‘hold with foot, step, walk on, ride (horse)’ |
| PMic | *fā | [(VI) ] ‘apply the sole of the foot’ | |
| PMic | *fās-i | ‘apply the sole of the foot to s.t.’ (Bender et al. 2003) | |
| Mic | Chuukese | ffa, ffæ | ‘kick with the sole of the foot’ |
| Mic | Chuukese | fǣt-i | [VT] ‘kick’ |
| Mic | Carolinian | ffa | ‘kick’ |
| Mic | Carolinian | fāt-i | [VT] ‘kick’ |
| Mic | Woleaian | fā-fā | ‘kick’ |
| Mic | Woleaian | fā-ti- | ‘kick it’ |
| Mic | Mokilese | pā-t- | ‘push with the feet’ |
| Mic | Mokilese | pā-tek | ‘push (s.t.) with the feet’ |
| Fij | Bauan | vā | [VI] ‘tread softly’ |
| Fij | Bauan | va-ða | [VT] ‘tread softly on s.t.’ |
| Fij | Wayan | valað-i- | ‘step or tread on s.t.’ |
| POc | *butu | [VI] ‘stamp foot, tread, kick’ | |
| POc | *butuR-i- | ‘stamp on, tread on, trample’ | |
| Adm | Seimat | putu-i | [VT] ‘stamp, kick’ |
| PT | Saliba | utu | ‘to step’ |
| SES | Bugotu | bū-butu | ‘stamp the foot in dancing, tread hard’ |
| SES | Bugotu | butul-i | ‘trample, kick’ |
| SES | Gela | butu-butu | ‘kick with the feet, as in swimming’ |
| SES | Tolo | butu | ‘kick’ |
| SES | Tolo | butul-i- | ‘step on’ |
| SES | Longgu | butu-butu | ‘beat (of heart); do things to show that you are looking for a fight (e.g. stamping feet, preparing to punch someone)’ |
| SES | To’aba’ita | bū | ‘step on the ground, put one’s foot on the ground’ |
| SES | ’Are’are | pū | ‘hit, stamp, tread, rely on, stand firm’ |
| SES | Kwaio | bū | ‘tread, step’ |
| SES | Sa’a | pū | ‘tread, stamp, stand firm’ |
| SES | Sa’a | pūl-i | ‘strike with the talons (of birds)’ |
| SES | Arosi | pū | ‘tread, stamp, rest, stand firm, rely on’ |
| SES | Arosi | pūli | ‘pounce on, of birds, to strike with the talons’ |
| NCV | Mota | put | ‘stamp on the ground (in anger, in singing)’ |
| NCV | Raga | butu | ‘stand strongly’ |
| NCV | Uripiv | -ʙət | ‘take a step’ |
| NCV | Port Sandwich | ᵐbyr-ᵐbyr-in-i | ‘trample underfoot’ |
| NCV | Neve’ei | bit | ‘step on, in’ |
| PMic | *pʷutu | ‘step, tread, apply one’s foot’ | |
| Mic | Kosraean | fut-fut | ‘kick’ |
| Mic | Kosraean | futu-ŋ | ‘kick, stomp (s.t.)’ |
| Mic | Marshallese | bʷic-bʷic | ‘kick, a dance’ |
| Mic | Marshallese | bʷic(cik) | ‘kick, be kicking’ |
| Mic | Chuukese | pʷu | ‘place one’s foot’ |
| Mic | Chuukese | pʷū-pʷu | ‘step, tread, place one’s foot on s.t.’ |
| Mic | Chuukese | pʷūr-i | ‘step on, tread on’ |
| Mic | Puluwatese | pūr-i- | ‘stamp or tread on’ |
| Mic | Carolinian | bʷu, bʷū-bʷu | ‘step, stand on’ |
| Mic | Carolinian | bʷū-ri | ‘step, stomp, tread on (s.t.)’ |
| Mic | Carolinian | bʷū-ræx | ‘stomp the feet (as when throwing a tantrum)’ |
| Fij | Bauan | butu | ‘stamp, tread’ |
| Fij | Bauan | butu-ka | ‘stamp or tread on’ |
| Fij | Wayan | butu-ki- | ‘stamp or tread on s.t., trample s.t.’ |
Like §7.5, the present section presents reconstructions for verbs encoding concepts other than locomotion. Hence reconstructions for verbs of swimming, moving about under water, and floating are given in §6.3.3. They include POc *tuRu(p) ‘wade’ and POc *kaRu, POc *qasa and PEOc *olo, all ‘swim’. The reconstructions in this section are actions involving water but not locomotion, and fall into two semantic sets: verbs denoting bathing, i.e. washing one’s body by immersion in water (§7.6.1), and verbs denoting the washing of either part of the body or an object (§7.6.2).
In traditional Oceanic societies the characteristic method of washing oneself all over is to immerse oneself in a river or, failing that, in the sea. On the basis of the glosses of their reflexes two reconstructions seem to have been terms primarily for washing oneself or someone else, typically a child, in this way. They are POc *siu-siu ‘wash oneself’/*siuw-i- ‘wash s.o’ and POc *ri-riu(s) ‘wash, bathe’/*rius-i- ‘wash s.o., bathe s.o.’ There is a note in Hutchisson’s Sursurunga dictionary file that siwi, the reflex of *siuw-i-, is a generic term for washing, and this was evidently true of the POc form too.
The transitional consonant *-w- in *siuw-i- reflects a minor reconstructive challenge. PMP *ziuq shows final *-q, but there is no reflex thereof in Oceanic reflexes. Instead, Oceanic reflexes point to *-p. However, I infer that pre-POc *siu-i acquired a transitional [w] which was strengthened to Tolai and PEOc bilabial fricative *-v-.
| PMP | *ziuq | ‘bathe’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *siu-siu | [VI] ‘wash oneself’ | |
| POc | *siuw-i- | [VT] ‘wash s.o’ (Geraghty 1983: PEOc *si(q,∅)u-v- ‘wash’) | |
| NNG | Kairiru | -si | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| PT | Gumawana | -siwo | [VI] ‘bathe oneself, wash oneself’ |
| PT | Dobu | (e)siwe | [VI] ‘wash oneself, bathe’ |
| MM | Patpatar | si-siu | [VI] ‘bathe’ |
| MM | Patpatar | siu | [VT] ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Tolai | (va)iuv-e | [VT] ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Sursurunga | siu-siu | [VI] ‘bathe, swim’ |
| MM | Sursurunga | siw-i- | [VT] ‘wash (child +), clean (s.t.)’ |
| MM | Konomala | siu | [VT] ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Solos | si-siuh | [VT] ‘wash (child +)’ |
| PEOc | *siu-siu | ‘wash oneself’ | |
| PEOc | *siuv-i- | ‘wash s.o’ | |
| SES | Bugotu | siu | [VI] ‘bathe, wash oneself’ |
| SES | Gela | siu | [VI] ‘bathe’ |
| SES | Gela | siuv-i | [VT] ‘bathe s.o.’ |
| SES | To’aba’ita | sī-siu | [VI] ‘wash oneself, bathe’ |
| SES | To’aba’ita | siuf-i- | [VT] ‘wash, bathe s.o.; give s.o. a bath’ |
| SES | Lau | siu | [VI] ‘bathe, wash standing in water’ |
| SES | Lau | siuf-i | [VT] ‘wash s.o., standing in water’ |
POc *ri-riu(s)/*rius-i- apparently reflects PAn/PMP *diRus ‘bathe’, but with irregular loss of medial *-R-. Only in Wayan Fijian would this loss be irregular.
| PAn/PMP | *diRus | ‘bathe’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *ri-riu(s) | [VI] ‘wash, bathe’ | |
| POc | *rius-i- | [VT] ‘wash s.o., bathe s.o.’ (ACD: *diRus) | |
| NNG | Lukep | -riu | ‘bathe’ |
| NNG | Mangap | -ri | ‘wash, bathe s.o. by pouring water on them’ |
| NNG | Sio | lili | ‘bathe, swim’ |
| NNG | Amara | ri | ‘bathe’ |
| NNG | Kilenge | (-wa)liu-e | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| NNG | Gitua | ri-riuz- | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| NNG | Mutu | ri-riu | ‘bathe oneself, wash oneself’ |
| NNG | Kove | li-liu | ‘bathe’ |
| NNG | Bariai | li-liu | ‘bathe’ |
| MM | Ramoaaina | ra-riu | ‘wash, bathe’ |
| Fij | Wayan | riu | ‘dive, plunge under water’ |
| Fij | Wayan | riu-vi- | ‘dive for s.t., dive and get s.t.’ |
POc *su-su(p), *sup-i- below is phonologically very similar to *siu-siu, *siuw-i- above, and it is tempting to assume that the disyllabic root *siu [*siju] has been reduced from disyllable to monosyllabic *[sju], then, because the latter conflicts with Oceanic phonotactics, to *[suː]. This might have resulted in alternant forms in POc or have happened on various occasions post-POC. However, there is reason to think that this inference is wrong. Reflexes of *siu-siu, *siuw-i- all have to do with washing. Reflexes of *su-su(p), *sup-i- point to a semantic element of submersion and diving as well as of washing. Moreover, Gela has contrasting reflexes of *siuv-i- and *sup-i-.
| POc | *su-su(p) | ‘wash by immersing oneself, dive’ | |
| POc | *sup-i- | ‘wash s.o. by immersing them; dive for s.t.’ | |
| Adm | Mussau | sū | [VI] ‘bathe, swim, dive’ |
| Adm | Mussau | sūs-i | [VT] ‘bathe s.o.’ |
| NNG | Sera | su-i | [VT] ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Tiang | su | [VT] ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | East Kara | su-suf | [VI] ‘bathe, wash’ |
| MM | Nalik | suf | [VI, VT] ‘swim, dive; wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Madak | su-su | [VI] ‘bathe’ |
| MM | Madak | su | [VT] ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Tangga | suf-i | [VT] ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Nehan | hu-hu | [VI] ‘bathe, wash’ |
| MM | Tinputz | (va)hū | ‘wash , bath’ |
| MM | Uruava | ui-u-i | [VI, VT] ‘wash’ |
| MM | Banoni | sū | [VI] ‘swim, dive into water (dive into and through water)’ |
| MM | Roviana | suvu | [VI] ‘swim’ |
| SES | Bugotu | hū | ‘dive, sink’ |
| SES | Gela | huv-i | ‘bathe’ |
| SES | Lau | sū | ‘dive, sink; set (of heavenly bodies)’ |
| SES | Kwaio | sū | [VI] ‘dive, sink’ |
| SES | Kwaio | sū-fi- | [VT] ‘dive for’ |
| SES | Sa’a | sū | [VI] ‘dive, sink’ |
| SES | Sa’a | sūh-i | [VT] ‘dive for’ |
| SES | Arosi | sū | [VI] ‘dive’ |
| SES | Arosi | sū-hi | [VT] ‘dive for’ |
| NCV | Vurës | suv-suv | [VI] ‘bathe, swim’ |
| NCV | Vurës | suv | [VT] ‘wash (hands or plates)’ |
| NCV | Mwotlap | suw | [VT] ‘wash’ |
| PMic | *Sū-Sū | ‘bathe’ | |
| PMic | *Sū | ‘dive down’ | |
| PMic | *Sūf-i- | ‘bathe s.o., dive for s.t.’ (Bender et al. 2003) | |
| Mic | Kosraean | yi, yi-yi | ‘bathe, take a shower’ |
| Mic | Marshallese | tiw-tiw | ‘bathe’ |
| Mic | Mokilese | tū-tu | ‘bathe’ |
| Mic | Mokilese | tūp | ‘bathe (s.o.)’ |
| Mic | Chuukese | tɨ̄-tɨ | ‘bathe, take a shower, be bowed (of the head)’ |
| Mic | Chuukese | tɨ | ‘dive, duck the head under water’ |
| Mic | Chuukese | tɨ̄f-i | ‘dive for (s.t.)’ |
| Mic | Mortlockese | tɨ̄-tɨ | ‘bathe’ |
| Mic | Puluwatese | tɨ̄-tɨ | ‘swim, bathe’ |
| Mic | Puluwatese | tɨ | ‘dive deep’ |
| Mic | Puluwatese | tɨ̄f-i(y) | ‘dive for (s.t.)’ |
| Mic | Carolinian | tɨ-̄tɨ | ‘bathe’ |
| Mic | Carolinian | tu, tɨ | ‘submerge, dive from the surface’ |
| Mic | Carolinian | tɨ̄f-i | ‘dive for (s.t.)’ |
| Mic | Satawalese | tɨ-̄tɨ | ‘bathe’ |
| Mic | Woleaian | tʉ̄-tʉ̄ | ‘bathe’ |
| Mic | Woleaian | tū(loŋo) | ‘dive in’ |
| Mic | Pulo Annian | tɨt-tɨ̄ | ‘bathe’ |
| Mic | Ulithian | θu-θu | ‘bathe’ |
| MM | Teop | si-sibu | [VI] ‘bathe’ (< *ti-tibu) |
POc *sugu(p), *sugup-i- below appears to have been identical in meaning with POc *su-su(p), *sup-i- immediately above. If there is a historical connection between them, however, it is difficult to see what it is. Neither has known non-Oceanic cognates, and one can only speculate that two POc dialects perhaps borrowed cognate terms from neighbouring Papuan languages. The Tongan and Niuean reflexes below reflect PPn *uku rather than expected *huku (which Tongan and Niuean would reflect as huku).
| POc | *sugu(p) | [VI] ‘wash by immersing oneself, dive’ | |
| POc | *sugup-i- | [VT] ‘wash s.o. by immersing them; dive for s.t.’ (Blust 1984b: *suku) | |
| NNG | Manam | -ruku- | [VI, VT] ‘bathe, wash’ (-k- for †-g-) |
| NNG | Bam | -ruk-i- | ‘wash (child +)’ (-k- for †-g-) |
| NNG | Yabem | -sagu | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| NNG | Roinji | sugu | ‘bathe, swim’ |
| NNG | Roinji | sug-i- | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| NNG | Mindiri | suga | ‘bathe’ |
| NNG | Bing | sūg | ‘bathe, wash’ |
| NNG | Matukar | sug | ‘wash’ |
| NNG | Takia | -sug, -sugu- | ‘wash, bathe (s.o.)’ |
| NNG | Gedaged | sug | [VI] ‘bathe’ |
| NNG | Gedaged | sug-i- | [VT] ‘make wet, bathe, wash’ |
| NNG | Kilenge | -suk | ‘dive’ |
| NNG | Tami | juŋ | ‘swim’ |
| NNG | Sio | sugu | ‘dive into the water, swim’ |
| NNG | Mutu | -zug | ‘dive’ |
| NNG | Gitua | -zugu | ‘swim on surface’ |
| NNG | Bariai | -duk | ‘dive’ |
| NNG | Sengseng | suh | ‘swim’ |
| PT | Dawawa | sigu | ‘washing the body’ |
| PT | Misima | hig-hig | ‘(have a) wash; (have a) swim’ |
| PT | Motu | digu | ‘bathe’ |
| MM | Vitu | (va)ðuɣuv-i | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Bulu | ru-rugu | ‘wash (self)’ |
| MM | Bulu | (va)rugu | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Patpatar | suguh | ‘immerse, dive’ |
| NCV | Mota | suɣ-suɣ | ‘bathe’ (-ɣ- for †-k-) |
| PPn | *uku | ‘dive, submerge’ | |
| PPn | *ukuf-i- | ‘dive for s.t.’ (POLLEX: *huku) | |
| Pn | Tongan | uku | ‘dive’ |
| Pn | Tongan | ukuf-i | ‘dive for s.t.’ |
| Pn | Niuean | uku | ‘dive’ |
| Pn | Anutan | uku | ‘bathe in fresh water, skin dive’ |
| Pn | Tuvalu | uku | ‘dive, swim under water’ |
| Pn | East Futunan | uku | ‘dive under water; submerge’ |
| Pn | East Uvean | uku | ‘dive under water’ |
| Pn | Emae | uku | ‘dive’ |
| Pn | Luangiua | ʔuʔu | ‘dive’ |
| Pn | Rennellese | uku | ‘dive’ |
| Pn | Sikaiana | uku | ‘dive or swim under water’ |
| Pn | Tikopia | uku | ‘dive’ |
| Pn | Tokelauan | uku | ‘dive’ |
| Pn | West Uvea | uku | ‘dive’ |
The forms in initial ñ- and n- listed below under POc *ñu-ñu(p)/*ñup-i-, *ñugu-i- and *ñulu-i- presented a reconstructive problem, as the non-initial consonants do not correspond. The transitive verbs below are each followed by a parenthesised protoform from which they could be descended. At first sight, these appear chaotic, but two sets of facts conspire to provide a solution. The first is that an initial *ñ- on a verb sometimes reflects the application of the PMP actor-voice formative *[pa]N- (vol.1:29–30) to a root with initial *s-. The second is that the non-initial consonants are identical to those found in *s-initial forms with the same meanings, including *sup-i- and *sugu-i- reconstructed above. The hypothesis that emerges is that the transitive forms in *ñ- reflect application of *[pa]N- to *s-initial roots. It is difficult to be certain how the fragmentary survivals from the PMP system worked in POc, but it is reasonable to infer that, for example, *ñu-ñu(p) was the actor-voice intransitive form, *sup-i- the transitive (see the discussion of intransitive and transitive forms of the verb ‘eat’ in §4.3.1.1). This implies that reduplicated intransitive forms like E Kara su-suf and Vurës suv-suv, listed above under POc *su-su(p)/*sup-i-, were back formations created from transitive *sup-i- corresponding intransitives, by applying the POc pattern noted in vol.1:25 (see also Evans 2003:81–84). Similarly, transitives like Seimat nuh-i and Baluan nup reflect the converse application of this pattern to intransitive *ñu-ñu(p). The fact that two POc verb pairs, *su-su(p)/*sup-i- and *ñu-ñu(p)/*ñup-i- can be reconstructed suggests that these processes occurred at some pre-POc stage.
| POc | *ñu-ñu(p) | ‘wash by immersing oneself, dive’ | |
| POc | *ñup-i- | ‘wash s.o. by immersing them; dive for s.t.’ (cf *sup-i- above) | |
| Adm | Seimat | nuh-i | [VT] ‘wash’ (< *(n,ñ)u(p,r,R)-i-) |
| Adm | Lou | nu | ‘bathe, submerge’ |
| Adm | Lou | nup | ‘wash’ (< *(n,ñ)up-i-) |
| Adm | Baluan | nu | ‘bathe, wash oneself’ |
| Adm | Baluan | nup | ‘wash a person, bathe s.o.’ (< *(n,ñ)up-i-) |
| Adm | Titan | ñu | [VI] ‘dive, bathe, go under water’ |
| Adm | Drehet | nu-nu | ‘bathe’ |
| Adm | Nyindrou | ñu | ‘wash, bathe’ |
| NNG | Mangseng | nu-nu | ‘wash, bathe’ |
| NNG | Wab | nu-n | ‘swim’ |
| POc | *ñugup-i- | ‘wash s.o. by immersing them’ (cf *sugu-i- above) | |
| NNG | Ulau-Suain | -ñuk | ‘wash (child +)’ (< *ñug-i-) |
| NNG | Ali | -ñuk | ‘wash (child +)’ (< *ñug-i-) |
| NNG | Yalu | -nʊʔ | ‘wash (child +)’ (< *(n,ñ)u(k,q,r,R)-i-) |
| NNG | Dangal | nuk | ‘wash (child +)’ (< *(n,ñ)u(k,q,r,R)-i-) |
The third of these sets, supporting the reconstruction of *ñulu-i-, does not correspond to a form in *s- reconstructed above. Instead we find three Admiralties forms reflecting *ñ- and three New Ireland (MM) forms reflecting *s- which together allow us to reconstruct two POc transitive forms, *ñulu-i- and *sulu-i- ‘wash s.o.’.
| POc | *ñulu-i- | ‘wash s.o.’ | |
| POc | *sulu-i- | ‘wash s.o.’ | |
| Adm | Lou | niɔl | ‘wash’ (< *(n,ñ)ul-i-) |
| Adm | Baluan | nul | ‘wash s.t., such as food or dishes, laundry’ (< *(n,ñ)ul-i-) |
| Adm | Titan | ñulu-i | [VT] ‘bathe, wash s.o. or s.t.’ (< *ñu(r,dr,d,l,c)u-i-) |
| MM | Tabar | suruv-i- | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Notsi | sil | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Lihir | sul | ‘wash (child +)’ |
POc *su-su(p)/*sup-i- and POc *sugu(p)/*sugup-i-, both reconstructed above, denoted bathing but also had a more specialised sense of swimming. The gloss of the Nakanai reflex of POc *lo-loso(p) suggests by contrast that it denoted bathing with a more specialised sense of swimming, perhaps under the surface. In a number of Vanuatu languages the main sense is now ‘swim’.
| POc | *lo-loso(p), *losop-i- | ‘bathe, wash by swimming’ (ACD: *loso-loso ‘bathe, swim’) | |
| NNG | Wogeo | loso-loso | ‘bathe’ |
| NNG | Wogeo | -la-lose | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| NNG | Kairiru | -luos | ‘wash oneself’ |
| NNG | Kairiru | -lis | ‘wash s.o.’ |
| MM | Nakanai | loso | ‘dive, surface-dive, swim under water’ |
| SES | Bugotu | ðo-ðoho | ‘swim, bathe’ |
| SES | Tolo | leso | [VI] ‘bathe’ (-e- for †-o-) |
| SES | Tolo | lesov-i- | [VT] ‘bathe s.o.’ (-e- for †-o-) |
| SES | Ghari | lesɔ | ‘bathe’ (-e- for †-o-) |
| SES | Birao | lɛsɔ | ‘bathe’ (-e- for †-o-) |
| SES | Longgu | loto | ‘wash oneself by playing or swimming in the water’ |
| SES | ’Are’are | roto | ‘bathe’ |
| SES | Sa’a | loto | ‘bathe’ |
| SES | Fagani | ro-roto | ‘bathe’ |
| SES | Oroha | roto | ‘bathe’ |
| TM | Nebao | lɔ | ‘swim, bathe’ |
| TM | Tanibili | lɔlɔ | ‘bathe’ |
| NCV | Tasmate | lo-loso | ‘swim’ |
| NCV | Nokuku | lo-loso | ‘swim, bathe, wash’ |
| NCV | Nokuku | losov | ‘swim, bathe, wash’ |
| NCV | Tamambo | lo-loso | [VI] ‘wash’ |
| NCV | Tamambo | losov-i- | [VT] ‘wash’ |
| NCV | Wusi | lo-loho | ‘swim’ |
| NCV | Unua | -ros-ros | ‘swim’ |
| NCV | Banam Bay | -rorox | ‘swim’ |
| NCV | Rerep | -rosə-ros | ‘swim’ |
| NCV | Uripiv | -la-los | ‘swim’ |
| NCV | Sa | -lo-los | ‘swim’ |
| NCV | Lonwolwol | -loh | ‘swim’ |
| NCV | Lonwolwol | -loh-loh | ‘bathe’ |
| NCV | Apma | le-leh | [VI] ‘bathe’ |
| NCV | Apma | lehew-i | [VT] ‘wash’ |
| NCV | Bieria | -loho | ‘swim’ |
| NCV | Nguna | lo-loso | ‘swim; bathe, have a shower’ |
| NCV | South Efate | los | ‘swim, bathe, wash oneself’ |
| SV | Sye | o-ruh | ‘swim’ |
There is a small doubt about the formal reconstruction of POc *kʷaya, as NNG languages have initial w-, most non-NNG languages k-. However, the latter are fortis reflexes (rather than lenis ɣ- or ʔ-), and thus plausible reflexes of *kʷ-.
| POc | *kʷaya | ‘bathe, swim’ | |
| Adm | Lou | kea | ‘swim’ |
| NNG | Mangap | -we | ‘dive’ |
| NNG | Maleu | -we | ‘swim’ |
| NNG | Mutu | waia | ‘swim’ |
| NNG | Mangseng | ke | ‘swim free’ |
| NNG | Wogeo | -wa-we | ‘dive’ |
| PT | Kilivila | kakaya | ‘swim’ |
| PT | Gumawana | kaya | ‘swim’ |
| PT | Gumawana | kay-ei | ‘swim with s.t.’ |
| PT | Kilivila | ka-kaia | ‘bathe, wash body’ |
| PT | Muyuw | ka-kay | ‘bathe’ |
| PT | Iamalele | kayo | ‘swim’ |
| PT | Iduna | -kayo | ‘swim (on front)’ |
| PT | Dawawa | gayo | ‘float’ |
| PT | Misima | gayu | ‘swim’ |
| Adm | Nyindrou | aya | ‘swim’ |
| Adm | Titan | yay | ‘bathe, wade, swim’ |
In contrast to the terms reconstructed in §7.6.2, the terms presented in this section denote washing one’s hands or face and sometimes washing objects. When they denote washing objects, it is fairly common to find reflexes with glosses that also mention rubbing something to get it clean, suggesting that their central meaning is one of cleaning in general, not just of washing.
Various scholars have suggested that the particular reflex of POc *wasi- known to them (e.g. Lichtenberk 2008) is borrowed from English wash via the local pidgin. However, the collection of reflexes below suggests that a POc term is reconstructable, and that the resemblance between its reflexes and, e.g., Vanuatu Bislama wasem is a matter of chance.
| POc | *wasi | ‘wash’ | |
| PT | Tawala | oɣa | ‘wash in or under water’ |
| MM | Nakanai | uasi | ‘wash, bathe’ |
| SES | To’aba’ita | wasi- | [VT] ‘wash s.t. (inc. one’s own body)’ |
| SES | Lau | wasi- | ‘wash (hands)’ |
| SES | ’Are’are | wasi-kaʔi | ‘wash (hands)’ |
| SES | Arosi | wasi- | ‘rub, wash clothes’ |
| SES | Arosi | wasi-raʔi | ‘rub, wash’ |
| SES | Fagani | wasi- | ‘wash (hands)’ |
| SES | Kahua | wasi | ‘wash (hands)’ |
| NCV | Tamambo | osi-osi | [VI] ‘wash hands’ |
| NCV | Lewo | was | ‘wash clothes’ |
| NCV | Uripiv | (te)wasi | ‘wipe, rub’ |
The fact that POc *pulu, *puRiq and *puqi below all begin with *pu- appears to be a matter of chance.
| PMP | *bulu | ‘wash the hands’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *pulu | ‘rub to make clean, wash’ (cf vol.1:243) | |
| SES | Lau | fulu | ‘clean, wipe, rub off dirt, wash away earth (of rain)’ |
| NCal | Iaai | üña | ‘rub, massage’ (John Lynch, pers. comm.) |
| Fij | Bauan | vulu-vulu | ‘wash the hands’ |
| Fij | Wayan | vū-vulu | ‘wash the hands, feet or hair’ |
| Fij | Wayan | vulu-y- | ‘wash a body part; rinse hair with colouring agent, bleach hair with lime’ |
| Pn | Tongan | fu-fulu | ‘wash or scrub; clean (a blackboard)’ |
| Pn | Niuean | fu-fulu | ‘rinse, wash, wash out’ |
| Pn | Samoan | fulu | ‘wash, clean’ |
| Pn | Samoan | fu-fulu | ‘wash (body or object); to clean (as the teeth)’ |
| Pn | Anutan | pu-puru | ‘wash an object other than oneself’ |
| Pn | Anutan | puru-puru | ‘wash oneself’ |
| Pn | Tuvalu | fulu | ‘wash (of one dish, etc.)’ |
| Pn | Tuvalu | fu-fulu | ‘wash (hands, dishes, floor, etc., but not clothes)’ |
| PMP | *buRiq | ‘wash, as the hands’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *puRiq | ‘wash, as the hands’ (ACD) | |
| NNG | Mangap | -puri | ‘clean s.t. small, rinse’ |
| PT | Sinaugoro | ɣuriɣi | [VT] ‘wash’ |
| PT | Motu | huri- | ‘wash, scrub’ |
| SES | Bugotu | vuli | ‘wash s.o., pour water on s.t., quench’ |
| SES | Gela | vuli | ‘pour water, sprinkle’ |
| SES | Tolo | vuli- | ‘wash (hands, clothes)’ |
| SES | West Guadalcanal | vuli | ‘wash (hands)’ |
| SES | Talise | vuli- | ‘wash (hands)’ |
| POc | *puqi | ‘rinse, wash’ | |
| MM | Nakanai | vuhi | ‘rinse’ |
| SES | Longgu | vui | ‘wash’ |
| SES | Fagani | hui- | ‘wash (hands)’ |
| Fij | Bauan | vū | [VI] ‘wash, cleanse (feet or hands) with water’ |
| Fij | Bauan | vuy-a | [VT] ‘wash’ |
| PPn | *fuqi | ‘wash feet or hands, pour water over, soak’ (POLLEX) | |
| Pn | Tongan | fuʔi-fuʔi | ‘pour water on, douse’ |
| Pn | Niuean | fui | ‘dip in water’ |
| Pn | Niuean | fui-fui | ‘wash, water (as plants)’ |
| Pn | Samoan | fui | ‘dip, steep in water’ |
| Pn | Tuvalu | fuifui | ‘sprinkle water over’ |
| Pn | East Futunan | fuʔi | ‘dip, soak’ |
| Pn | East Futunan | fufuʔi | ‘dip, soak’ |
| Pn | East Uvean | fui | ‘dip, soak’ |
| Pn | Kapingamarangi | hui | ‘immerse in water’ |
| Pn | Rarotongan | ʔui | ‘dash water into’ |
| Pn | West Uvea | fu-fui, fui-a | ‘wash, rinse (hands, dishes), clean (house)’ |
| Pn | West Futunan | fuia | ‘moisten something, dunk something, dip, rinse something in liquid and take it out (as in washing clothes)’ |
| Fij | Wayan | vue | ‘(hair) be washed by rubbing hands on the scalp, be dyed’ |
| Fij | Wayan | vue-ti | [VT] ‘wash or dye (hair)’ |
The presence of -u for †-o in the Mangseng and Hoava reflexes below may indicate that they reflect a protoform other than POc *paño. Nonetheless, the presence of non-Oceanic cognates and the Polynesian reflexes means that Blust is right to reconstruct in the ACD.
| PAn | *bañaw | ‘wash the body’ (ACD) | |
| PMP | *bañaw | ‘wash the hands’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *paño | ‘wash the hands’ (ACD) | |
| NNG | Mangseng | panu-nu | ‘wash’ (-u for †-o) |
| MM | Hoava | vanu-vanu | ‘wash (hands)’ (-u for †-o) |
| Pn | Tongan | fano-fano | ‘wash hands’ |
| Pn | Niuean | fano | ‘rub, wash (clothes)’ |
| Pn | Niuean | fano-fano | ‘rub (as in washing clothes)’ |
| Pn | Samoan | fa-fano | ‘wash hands or feet’ |
| Pn | Anutan | pano-pano | ‘wash hands’ |
| Pn | Tuvalu | fano | ‘wash hands’ |
| Pn | East Futunan | fano-fano | ‘wash hands’ |
| Pn | West Uvea | fa-fano | ‘wash hands’ |
The two terms below display skewed geographic distributions of reflexes, but both meet the criteria for POc reconstruction.
| POc | *japula | ‘wash one’s hands, clean s.o.’ | |
| MM | Nakanai | savula | ‘brush dirt off a child’ |
| SES | Gela | havul-i- | ‘wash with water’ |
| PNCV | *zavula | ‘wash one’s hands’ (Clark 2009) | |
| NCV | Mota | savula | ‘wash one’s hands’ |
| NCV | Nokuku | jo-jowul | ‘wash one’s hands’ |
| NCV | Kiai | za-zavula | ‘wash one’s hands’ |
| NCV | Uripiv | -jejavəl | ‘wash one’s hands’ |
| NCV | Nduindui | sa-savula | ‘wash one’s hands’ |
| NCV | Unua | -je-javur | ‘wash one’s hands’ |
| NCV | Naman | nsəvəl | ‘wash’ |
| NCV | Naman | nsə-nsəvəl | ‘wash one’s hands’ |
| Fij | Bauan | savu-y-a | ‘wash feet or hands’ |
| POc | *goso | ‘wash s.o./s.t.’ | |
| NNG | Rauto | gos | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Lamasong | goso | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Madak | gos | ‘wash (s.t.)’ |
| MM | Label | gos | ‘wash (child +)’ |
| MM | Siar | gos | ‘wash’ |
| NCV | Vurës | gʊs | ‘wash (clothes)’ |
The verbs reconstructed below, translated as ‘hide’ and ‘wait’, each have a semantic component of location, but not of posture.
One waits somewhere for something to happen. Semantically the verb has both a locational component (being somewhere) and a cognitive component (expecting an event). Just one POc verb is reconstructed with this sense.
| POc | *tari | [VI] ‘wait’; [VT] ‘wait for s.t.’5 | |
| NNG | Dami | tari | ‘wait’ |
| NNG | Mangseng | te-tal | ‘wait for’ |
| MM | Nakanai | -tali | ‘wait for’ (in compounds, e.g. magiri-tali ‘stand and wait for’) |
| MM | Vaghua | tar | ‘wait’ |
| NCV | Aulua | dare | ‘wait’ (John Lynch, pers. comm.) |
| NCV | Port Sandwich | terere | ‘wait’ (John Lynch, pers. comm.) |
| NCV | Naman | i-tər | ‘wait’ (John Lynch, pers. comm.) |
| NCV | Neverver | der | ‘wait’ (John Lynch, pers. comm.) |
| Pn | Tongan | tali | ‘wait, wait for, expect’ |
| Pn | Niuean | tali | ‘wait, expect’ |
| Pn | Samoan | tali | ‘wait for’ |
| Pn | Tikopia | tari | ‘wait’ |
| Pn | Hawaiian | kali | ‘wait, loiter, hesitate’ |
| Pn | Māori | ta-tari | ‘wait for’ |
Motu (PT) nari (VI) ‘wait’, may be the sole reflex of a POc morphological intransitive *nari (reflecting *[pa]N- + *tari) (§1.3.5.6).
Oceanic languages preserve reflexes of three POc forms descended from PMP *buni ‘hide, conceal’. Two of these are *puni and *muni. Their origin, briefly mentioned in §1.3.5.5, is transparent. POc *puni was the root form, reflecting PMP *buni, and was originally transitive. POc *muni reflected PMP *m-uni, the outcome of adding the actor-voice infix *⟨um⟩ to the root *puni, to form an intransitive, involving a morphophonemic rule whereby *⟨um⟩ + *p- became *m-. Probably this transitive/intransitive contrast was maintained in POc, as it survives in Siar (MM) mumun (VI) vs wun (VT) (Frowein 2011:94), but, as the cognate sets below show, various languages have created an intransitive from *puni and a transitive from *muni, with or without a derivational morpheme.
| PAn | *buLi | ‘hide, conceal’ (ACD) | |
| PMP | *buni | ‘hide, conceal’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *puni | [VT] ‘hide, conceal s.t.’ | |
| Adm | Baluan | (ta)pʊn | [VI] ‘hide s.t.’ |
| NNG | Numbami | uŋa | [VT] ‘hide’ |
| NNG | Kaiwa | (vai)vun | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| NNG | Hote | -vuŋ | [VT] ‘hide, cover’ |
| NNG | Mapos Buang | vun | [VT] ‘hide, cover up’ |
| NNG | Patep | vun | [VT] ‘steal, hide’ |
| NNG | Yalu | -fʊm-ʊn | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| NNG | Sukurum | -fum-bun | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| PT | Ubir | (bai)bu-buni-n | ‘hidden’ |
| PT | Motu | huni- | [VT] ‘hide, cover’ |
| PT | Motu | (ta)huni | ‘be hidden’ (ta- < *ta- SPONTANEOUS) |
| PT | Gabadi | uni-ni | [VT] ‘hide’ |
| PT | Kuni | -buni | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| PT | Kuni | -buni-ai | [VT] ‘hide’ (-ai < POc *-aki(n) APPLICATIVE) |
| MM | Tiang | uən | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| MM | East Kara | fun | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| MM | East Kara | fu-fun-ai | [VT] ‘hide’ (-ai < POc *-aki(n) APPLICATIVE) |
| MM | Nalik | fun | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| MM | Sursurunga | pun(mai) | [VT] ‘hide’ (mai ‘come’) |
| MM | Konomala | funi | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| MM | Siar | wun | [VT] ‘hide’ |
| MM | Mono-Alu | funi | [VT] ‘hide’ |
| SES | ’Are’are | (raʔe)huni | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| SES | ’Are’are | ([haʔa]raʔe)huni- | [VT] ‘hide’ |
| SES | Arosi | huni-huni | [VT] ‘hide, conceal’ |
| NCV | Mota | vun | ‘deceive, hide’ |
| NCV | Mota | (ta)vun | ‘be hidden’ (ta- < *ta- SPONTANEOUS) |
| Fij | Bauan | vuni, vuni- | [VI] ‘be hidden’; [VT] ‘hide, conceal’ |
| Fij | Wayan | vuni, vuni- | [VI] ‘be hidden’; [VT] ‘hide (oneself)’ |
| PMP | *m-uni | [VI] ‘hide’ | |
| POc | *muni | [VI] ‘hide oneself, be hidden’ | |
| NNG | Sio | mun- | ‘hide from (living things, only)’ |
| NNG | Tami | mu-muŋ | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| NNG | Kairiru | -muñ-aqa- | [VT] ‘hide’ (-aqa- < POc *-aki APPLICATIVE) |
| MM | Lavongai | mun | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| MM | Lihir | muni-n | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| MM | Lihir | muni-nie | [VT] ‘hide’ |
| MM | Patpatar | mun | ‘hide; hidden (of people, objects)’ |
| MM | Siar | mu-mun | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| MM | Halia | (hata)mun | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| MM | Taiof | (fa)muiŋ | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| MM | Torau | (mu)muni | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| MM | Laghu | (ne)muni | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| SES | Lau | muni | [VT] ‘hide, put out sight’ |
| SES | ’Are’are | (a)muni | ‘hidden, lost to sight’ (a- < *ta- SPONTANEOUS) |
| SES | Sa’a | mu-muni | [VT] ‘hide, conceal’; [VI] ‘be hidden’ |
| SES | Sa’a | (ʔa)muni | ‘lost to sight, sunk below the horizon’ |
| Pn | Anutan | mu-muni | ‘hide’ |
| Pn | Tuvalu | m-muni | [VI, VT] ‘hide’ |
| Pn | East Uvean | mu-muni | [VT] ‘hide s.t.’ |
| Pn | East Futunan | mu-muni | [VI] ‘hide oneself’ |
| Pn | Emae | mu-muni | [VI] ‘hide oneself’ |
| Pn | Ifira-Mele | mu-muni | [VT] ‘hide s.t.’ |
| Pn | Nukuoro | m-muni | ‘be hidden’ |
| Pn | Luangiua | muŋi | ‘be hidden’ |
| Pn | Pileni | muni | [VI] ‘hide’; [ADV] ‘secretly’ |
| Pn | Rennellese | mu-muni | [VI] ‘hide’ |
| Pn | West Uvea | mu-muni | ‘hide oneself’ |
| Pn | West Futunan | muni | ‘be hidden’ |
The third POc form descended from PMP *buni ‘hide, conceal’ is POc *buni. This is almost certainly not a direct descendant of PMP *buni, as POc *puni has that privilege. Instead, it appears from the glosses of its reflexes to be an alternant to *muni, i.e. an intransitive. The best hypothesis to account for it is that it arose at a pre-POc stage when marking intransitive with *⟨um⟩ was at least still partially productive, but instead of *m replacing *p- (the effective outcome of the rule mentioned above), it was added to it to form pre-POc *mpuni, which by regular sound change became *buni.
| PAn | *buLi | ‘hide, conceal’ (ACD) | |
| PMP | *buni | ‘hide, conceal’ (ACD) | |
| POc | *buni | [VI] ‘hide oneself, be hidden’ | |
| MM | Tolai | bu-bun | ‘keep secret, keep quiet; vanish, as a ghost or a spirit’ |
| SES | Lau | buni | ‘hide one’s tracks’ |
| SV | Lenakel | a-pn-ín | ‘hide or conceal an action’ |
| Pn | Samoan | puni | ‘screen off, hide; curtain, screen’ |
| Pn | Pukapukan | pu-puni | ‘close, shut, concealed’ |
| Pn | Hawaiian | (hoʔo)puni | ‘deceive, delude’ (hoʔo < *paka- CAUS) |
| Pn | Tahitian | pu-puni | ‘hide oneself’ |
| Pn | Mangaia | puni | ‘hide oneself’ |
| Pn | Marquesan | pu-puni | ‘hide oneself’ |
| Pn | Mangarevan | pu-puni | ‘hide; be enclosed, shut in’ |
| Pn | Rarotongan | puni | ‘hide’ |
| Pn | Māori | (faka)pu-puni | ‘crouch, lurk, hide oneself’ (faka < *paka- CAUS) |