Where does “սեւ” come from?
սեւ (Middle Armenian) comes from Old Armenian սեաւ, from Parthian 𐫘𐫏𐫀𐫇, from Proto-Iranian cyaHwáh, from Proto-Indo-Iranian ćyaHwás, from Proto-Indo-European ḱyeh₁-wó-s — dark; deep brown.
Ancestry of “սեւ”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Armenian | սեաւ | black; sad, gloomy; black horse |
| 2 | Parthian | 𐫘𐫏𐫀𐫇 | — |
| 3 | Proto-Iranian | cyaHwáh | black-brown, dark brown, dark |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | ćyaHwás | black-brown, dark-brown, dark |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱyeh₁-wó-s | dark; deep brown |