lesa’
English: Translation
A nit; the egg of a human head louse, laid and firmly cemented to a strand of hair, usually near the scalp. The term may also refer to the attached egg casing that remains on the hair after the young louse has hatched.
Notes
lesa’
n.
Semantic note
A lesa’ is not itself the newly hatched louse. It is the egg or its remaining shell:
lesa’ → hatches into koyomad → matures into koto
Compare
- koyomad — the mobile immature louse that emerges from the egg.
- koto — the adult head louse.
Etymological note
Lesa’ belongs to another very old Austronesian cognate set. Comparative sources reconstruct forms including Proto-Malayo-Polynesian leseq* ‘nit; louse egg’ and related higher or regional reconstructions such as* liseqeS, liqes*, and Proto-Oceanic* lisa. The final Boie’nen glottal in lesa’ plausibly reflects an earlier final laryngeal or uvular consonant, especially *q, while the medial vowels have undergone language-specific development. Cognates include Sundanese lisa, Old Javanese liŋsa, and many Philippine and Oceanic forms.