Mar.4] PROCEEDINGS. [1890.this homophone alsobearsthe meaning "topurseup the mouth,"
as in the phrase mi-mihau, " to pucker the lips," or more literally
"closethe mouth." Withthismaybe taken anotherhomophone,
the fourth in the list, readmi in Cantonese, ir at Shanghai, and
meaning "to shut, to close." Now Accadian furnishes gin, gi,
"to shut or close " (sanaku, kalu); -^sJe, ir (? g'ir), "toshutin,"
(eseru); and fcEfcJ,g'ir," to close " {kalu).
(14)TheChinese ir or ni, and mi, ji, er, "woven featherand
hair work," " coloured hair,"admitsof further comparison,not only
with our hypothetical gir = gis, " hair," but also with J]y,ur,
urri, "a hyena," (Assyrianaku), and the synonymous ur-barra
(aha, barbaru). The variegated fur of the creature is indicated
by both names(cp. the next er).
( 1 5) The Chineseir, dialectic /, ji, er, " the blood of a sacrificed
fowl,""topullout the hairs of a victim's ears,"er-er,"ear-blood,"
maybe compared not only with gir = gis and Gi, " the ear,"
but also with£55^,uru," blood" (damn).
(16)The Chinese ir, "a second; an assistant or attendant
(eunuch)," answers to «-£^f, uru, eri, "servant." Cp. also
tyy^m^f:, uru, sikaru, "male, man"; tyy^*^, eru, zinniStu,
"female,"and t^S^:£-, eru, abdu,"servant."
(17) TheChineseir, the 7th radical (dialectic/', ji, ni), " two, the
second,to divide in twain, to double," maybe equated in the first
sensewith•^Tff'GIR = TAB> taPpt'i"a fellow," "second";andin
the third sensewithJ^: in ir-tim, "a plow-share" or "coulter,"
apparently(dimmu, mahraSu). timmeans" to cut," andthe ana
logy of other compoundsof this kind requires thatir should be
synonymous. With thisir, "to cut in twain," "divide,"cp. -^t^,
ir, " the middle " (kirbu, libbu),andur, " the bowels " (tertu), and
JZ^l[y, ur, "the loins" (sfinu: Dr. Jeremias,ap. Beitriige zur
Assyriologie,p. 287), whichare middle parts.
(18)Lastly, ir (/, ji, ni), "a substitute, a second," a mere
duplicate of the last homophone, has also the meanings " to
suspect"and"to oppose." Cp. IfcJ, ur, "anenemy"(nakru),or
* Hau, in Amoy t'o, and at Shanghai k'u,is the 30th radical,pronounced
i'auin Mandarin. Thesedialecticvariantspointto an original id, kii. Theterm
means"themouth," "a gate," andis identical withAccadian*-£jfcJ, ka,
" mouth" and " gate " (pA, Mint).
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