Reconstruction:Proto-Mayan/kaahn

This Proto-Mayan entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Mayan

Noun

*kaahn

1. snake

Descendants

• Ch'orti': chan
• Kaqchikel: Kan (“Snake (calendar sign)”)
• Lacandon: kan
• Tzeltal: chan
• Tzotzil: chon
• Wastek: tsan
• Yucatec Maya: kaan

References

• Brown, Cecil H., Wichmann, Søren (2004 April) “Proto-Mayan syllable nuclei”, in International Journal of American Linguistics, volume 70, number 2, →DOI, pages 128–186: “*kaahnʼ ‘snake’”
• Kaufman, Terrence, Justeson, John (2003) A Preliminary Mayan Etymological Dictionary‎^[1], pages 636–637: “pM *kaan”