Reconstruction:Proto-Kartvelian/č̣am-

*č̣am- : *č̣m-

1. to eat

According to Klimov here also belongs Svan ლა-ლ-ე̄მ (la-l-ēm), which supposedly goes back directly to the proto-form before the expected ჭკ / შკ ← *ჭ (č̣ḳ / šḳ ← *č̣) cluster had developed, the vowel length supposedly compensating for the loss of *ჭ (*č̣). This is rejected by Fähnrich–Sarǯvelaʒe; Čuxua adds ა-ჭკჷმ-ე (a-č̣ḳəm-e), which corresponds regularly.

• Proto-Georgian-Zan:
  • ⇒ Old Georgian: ჭამა (č̣ama), ჭამს (č̣ams)
    • Georgian: ჭამა (č̣ama)
  • Zan:
    • ⇒ Laz: ოჭკომუ (oç̌ǩomu), ოშკომუ (oşǩomu)
    • ⇒ Mingrelian: ჭკომუა (č̣ḳomua), ჭკუმუა (č̣ḳumua), ჭკუნს (č̣ḳuns)
• ⇒ Svan: აჭკჷმე (ač̣ḳəme)

• ⇒ Proto-Georgian-Zan: *lʿa-č̣m-el- (“food”)

• Klimov, G. A. (1998) Etymological Dictionary of the Kartvelian Languages (Trends in linguistics. Documentation; 16), New York, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pages 319–320
• Penrixi (Fähnrich), Hainc, Sarǯvelaʒe, Zurab (2000) Kartvelur enata eṭimologiuri leksiḳoni [Etymological Dictionary of the Kartvelian Languages] (in Georgian), 2nd edition, Tbilisi: Tbilisi Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani State University Press, pages 680–681
• Fähnrich, Heinz (2007) Kartwelisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch [Kartvelian Etymological Dictionary] (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.18) (in German), Leiden, Boston: Brill, pages 664–665
• Čuxua, Merab (2018) “Axali masalebi kartuli enis isṭoriul-eṭimologiuri leksiḳonisatvis [New Materials for the Georgian Historical-Etymological Dictionary]”, in Eṭimologiuri ʒiebani (in Georgian), volume XV, Tbilisi, pages 109–110