The Word for 'One' in Proto-Semitic

Traditionally, scholars have reconstructed *waḥad or some variant thereof as the word for ‘one’ in Proto-Semitic. In this paper, I argue that *'ast- is a better candidate because it is attested as a number in both East and West Semitic. *waḥad, by contrast, was most likely an adjective meaning ‘lone’ as in Akkadian. Along the way, I will review some methodological criteria that may prove useful in the ongoing effort to reconstruct Proto-Semitic.