Dolgopolsky list

The Dolgopolsky list is a word list compiled by Aharon Dolgopolsky in 1964. It lists the 15 lexical items that have the most semantic stability, i.e. they are the 15 words least likely to be replaced by other words. It was based on a study of 140 languages from across Eurasia.[The dictionary of historical and comparative linguistics, Trask, Robert Lawrence (C) 2000, p. 96.]

The words, arranged from most stable to least stable, are:

1. I/me
2. two/pair
3. you (singular, informal)
4. who/what
5. tongue
6. name
7. eye
8. hear
9. tooth
10. no/not
11. nail
12. louse/nit
13. tear/teardrop
14. water
15. dead

The first item in the list, I/me, has been replaced in none of the 140 languages during their recorded history; the fifteenth, dead, has been replaced in 25% of the languages.[The dictionary of historical and comparative linguistics, Trask, Robert Lawrence (C) 2000, p. 96.]