The Etymology of the Old Chinese Numeral 'Two

The two words, _ erh < *jnpjs 'two' and {k tz'u < *cnhais 'next, subsequent', the former said by the Shuo wen to be ph. in the latter, are probably cognate with each other, and both belong to a word family that can be defined semantically as a\/ NIGH NEAR NEXT. Representatives of the NIGH sense include: *k /I *jia?, -*jnak, iffi*jnag, J)*jn2, and m *jnial2, all meaning 'you' or 'your'. Cf. Eng. neighbor < nigh-. Representatives of the NEAR sense include: to *jnag, A , A *jnan, the meaning 'so, like', and the adverbial suffix function '-ly', being derived from the sense of 'near to'. Representatives of the NEXT sense, in addition to = and ak include X? and J!. The phonetic common denominator for the word family is the initial *jn-. In some cases it may be that the finals can be identified as sub-syllabic formatives with specific associated meanings or functions. Two possibilities are: (a) that the -ag of jfii*jnag, seen also in Z*tag, 4 *h~kg, and a *lag, is a subordinating or hypotactic formative; and (b) that the -an of , *jnan reflects a sedative -n final consonant, seen also in V*hdn, i#*hjin, and perhaps *hjan

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