Basque begi 'eye' is cognate to IE *s-meḱ- 'cheek, chin', as well as to Burushaski *-moq-
'face, cheek', with regular denasalization of initial *m-. This lexeme also appears as the second member of Nakh-Daghestanian *wimq’V
'witness; true' (NCED 2134), presumably a fossilized compound.
By contrast, the Caucasian word for 'eye', *ʡwĭlʡi
(NCED 34)1, is reflected in IE *wel-
'to see' > Latin vultus 'face'.
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1 Despite this, Starostin
constructs from it a "Sino-Caucasian" etymology to which Bengtson
links the Basque word.
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