Contionary:emibe

Chlouvānem

Alternative forms

• emi (used in counting)
• yemibe (Archaic Chlouvānem; obsolete)
• emibu (Classical-era dialectal variant; obsolete)

Etymology

From Archaic Chlouvānem yemibe, from Proto-Lahob *jemibɨ (or *jemibə). Cognates include Łohofál yew, Yełeshian Lawo im̃u, Shershan Lawo im̃o, Łaȟoḇaror sämeḇ.

The term is sporadically attested with initial /j/ (as yemibe) in the earliest written specimens of Chlouvānem and, only once, in a Lällshag-Chlouvānem inscription (as jemibo, reflecting a variant with final /u/); the word-initial /je(ː)/ → /e(ː)/ change was complete sometime before the period recognized as Classical Chlouvānem, and this, being such a basic word, has been proposed as one of the words where this change likely started.

The quality of the last vowel in the reconstruction of Proto-Lahob is unclear, at least for what concerns the Chlouvānem branch: the Classical-era dialectal variant, as well as the combining form, with /u/, reflect *ɨ; most of its declension, with /a/, reflects *ə instead, while the final /e/ in the nominative form is an irregular change, possibly triggered by the following three numbers in the sequence ending in a front vowel (cf. dani, pāmvi, nęlte).

Pronunciation

(Chlouvānem) IPA: /emibe/

Numeral

emibe (cardinal numeral; ordinal lahīla, no collective, distributive emibhaicē, adverbial māgemibe, multiplicative emibarvīm, fractionary lahīlvāṭ)

1. one, a single specimen of

   emibe phēcam mæn eṇē ānotē, dani ni švotāhai.

   One cat is lying on the table; two [other cats] lie under [it].

2. (emphatic) a, an undefined exemplar of

   maile emiyu nāmñū imišaṃte.

   I've just seen a nāmñē in the water.

3. (with a dual or plural genitive attribute, or in a copular sentence) one of

   babhrāṃrye sasprāsirāhe lelyē mæn dildhā emibe vi.

   The dildhā (giant lizard/land dragon) is one of the largest living beings on land.

   jāyiṃrān emibe upūpūnī.

   One of the girls has been working a lot.

4. (in compound words) single-, mono-, uni-, homo-

   emibulelcūlla — single-seater [racing] car

   emibugirdaradhūs — monodirectional verb

   emib(u)dhāḍausake — [to be] monolingual

5. (essive case, adverbial use) alone, by oneself, on one's own

   pū gu daudi ša, emibą dadrāltaṃte.

   If you don't want to, I'll do it on my own.

Inflection

Numeral, irregular
Case	Singular
Direct Vocative	emibe
Accusative	emiyu
Ergative	emeis
Genitive	emibī
Translative	emiban
Exessive	emibat
Essive	emibą
Dative	emibå
Ablative	emiyų
Locative	emiye
Instrumental	emīp

Usage notes

Using emibe for the "a" meaning is emphatic: omitting it is the unmarked way to convey this meaning.

Derived terms

• emibayas (one (reified numeral))
• emibāmis (chart, classification)

Related terms

• lahīla (first)
• ajrā (zero)
• dani (two)