なま【今】 : nama | define meaning

Northern Ryukyuan cognates include Kikai (Onotsu, Shitooke, Shiomichi, Sakamine, Wan, Nakazato, Araki) にゃま nyama [nʲama]; Amami (Ura) っなま qnama [ˀnama]; Amami (Yoroshima) [jawã]; Tokunoshima (Amagi) んなー nnaa; Tokunoshima なー naa; Yoron っにゃま qnyama [ʔnjama]; Kikai (Kamikatetsu), Amami (Katetsu, Doren, Ukejima), Okinoerabu, Yoron and Okinawan (Kudaka, Maejima, Nago, Sesoko, Shuri, Soukei) なま nama [nama]; Okinawan (Iheya: Shimajiri) っなま qnama [ʔnama]; Okinawan (Iheya: Shomi) っなんま qnanma [ʔnaNma]; Okinawan (Takazato) なんま nanma [naɴma] "now". The form nanma- (namma-) surfaces in some Okinawan varieties when followed by the focus particle どぅ du or る ru.

Southern Ryukyuan cognates include Miyako (Bora, Ikema, Irabu, Kamiji, Karimata, Kugai, Kuninaka, Kurima, Ōgami, Ōura, Shimajiri, Uruka, Yonaha) んなま nnama [nnama~n̩nama]; Miyako (Irabu) んなみ nnami [nnami]; Miyako (uncertain location) [nnaNma]; Tarama and Yaeyama (Miyara, Sïka) なま nama; Yaeyama (Taketomi) [nãã]; Yaeyama (Kohama) みなま minama; Yaeyama (Funauki) みな mina; Yaeyama (Hateruma, Shiraho) まな mana; Yaeyama (Hatoma) まなま manama; and Yonaguni ない nai "now".

Reconstructions for proto-Ryukyuan include:

• Zachary Read (2015) and Kohei Nakazawa (2022) propose a reconstruction of *ima-ma, arguing that a) *ima (cognate with Japanese ima "now") underwent prepalatalization, resulting e.g. in the Northern Ryukyuan shift *ima > *imʲa > *ʔinʲa > ʔnʲa (> nʲa > na in Shuri Okinawan); and b) that it was re-affixed with the productive temporal-locative ending -ma. For Yonaguni, Nakazawa (2022) proposes a sound change that explains the parallel between *imama > nai "now" and *imada > madi "not yet" in Yonaguni. It's worth noting that a similar parallel exists with Okinawan naada "not yet", although a vowel length difference exists.
• Alexander Vovin (2018) doesn't explicitely reconstruct *ima-ma, but notes the Old Okinawan form *imʲa 'now' and proposes the shift *imʲa > *nʲa > na 'now' + ma 'interval', resulting in the modern Okinawan form nama. This is then compared to Western Old Japanese *ima 'now' and discussed in the larger context of prepalatalization in Okinawan.
• Wayne P. Lawrence (2016) reconstructs proto-Okinawan *ʔnjaɴma from an earlier *inama.
• John R. Bentley (2008) reconstructs *_nVnama for proto-Miyako, *_menama for proto-Yaeyama, *nae for Proto-Yonaguni (questioning its relation) and finally *menama for proto-Sakishima (i.e. southern Ryukyuan).

Historical Ryukyuan attestations

• おもろさうし Omoro Saushi (1531-1623) records "いみや".
• 混効験集 Konkoukenshuu (1711), "Words of the Royal Palace", records "「なま」只今" and  "「いみや」今なり".
• Essay in Aid of a Grammmar and Dictionary of the Luchuan Language (1895), by Basil Hall Chamberlain, records "Nama, now: nama madi, hitherto; nama-sachi, a moment ago. (The second syllable is probably identical with Jap. ma, space, time.)".
• 沖縄語典 Okinawa goten (Okinawan language dictionary) (1896), by Masayo Nakamoto, records "「なま、なー」今（イマ）".