--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Harald Hammarstrom <haha2581@...>
wrote:
> > Perhaps the suffix is *-tom. Interestingly this shows up in
> > numerous African languages (of different families) with the
> > meaning "to count."
>
> Which african lgs?
I need to make a correction. *tom means either one or ten, not to
count. According to M. Lionel Bender ("African Languages: An
Introduction" ed. Heine and Nurse, pg. 67) *tom appears in the Mande,
Volta-Congo, Cushitic, and Omotic families. Some specific forms are:
Zagawa /tim(m)-i/
Nyangi, Ik /tOm-in/, /tom-in/
Maba, Masalit /to:(m)/ "one"
East Sudanic /tUm-un/, /tOm-On/
Gumuz /me-ta(m)/ "one"