Nov.5] SOCIETYOF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY. [1889.It is evident that all these variousmeaningsof lal admitof
reductionto a few general heads; but that is a process whichmay
be left to the reader to carry out,if he pleases. I regard lal as an
instance of the extension of a root by reduplication = la + la,
whencethe Assyrian lain, lulU,"abundance." In both Accadian
andChinesethe root is preserved in its simplest formla, which in
Accadian means" fullness " or " abundance," andin Chinese " un
even," "piled up,"as a heap. The developmentof the root in
Accadianis, as usual, far more restrictedthanin Chinese.
If now we look backupon the terms withwhichwe started, we
shall perhaps see that the Chinese and Accadian words which
happenedfirstto excite my curiosity, are really connected in their
original forms. The word a-a or ai, "father," appearedto bear
some relation to the Chinese ye. Thetermis honorific, and is
usedin addressing divinities,officers,noblemen,princes,and gentle
men. Tienlao ye is " the highest god, whoever he may be, the
Rulerof the sky" (heaven+ old man -(-father). Theold sounds of
ye in its various sensesare ya, yap, yat, yak. In four of the dialects
ya is still spoken; a vocalization which brings the Chineseand
Accadiantermsclosertogether. I think it probable that ga was the
original term. Nowga (dial, ma)means" to make " {cp. Assyrian
baniiya, " my maker " = my father), and|{, a, is defined by banu.
As regards a-a or ai, " the moon," Chineseyueh, the old sounds
givenfor the Chinese characterare nget and yet. I had decided that
Mandariny stands in place of an ancient g (ng) beforeever seeing
William'sDictionary,whichso strikingly corroborates thatopinion.
Theotherdialectssupportan initial g in this instance,e.g.,Swatow
gue, Amoygoat. Now if gud were the ancient word, we are
remindedof the Accadian g'ud," to be bright " ; cp. Cantonese ut.
Thespirantg' of Accadian points backto an older surdG, which
bringsus to gud, gu, " cow " ; about the relation of which animalto
the moon in mythology I need say nothing.
Ournextpairof terms was a, "hand," "side,"and yu, "hand."
WellsWilliamsgivesthe Chinese wordas yiu' (Shanghaiyu). A
homophone is yiu', "the right hand," "onthe right." The old
soundsof YIU includeot and at. TheAccadianwordis written
with a character whosesyllabicvalueis it, id. Possibly,therefore,
the original wordwas gad,whichgivesus the other valueof ^f,
§u, viz., kat(gad),fromwhichsprings the Assyrian qatu, "hand."
The last pair were the Accadian a, "son," andyiu, "young,"
14