Reconstruction:Proto-Yoruboid/ù-kó

This Proto-Yoruboid entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Yoruboid

Etymology

Probably from *ù- (“nominalizing prefix”) +‎ *kó (“to scoop”). While most Yoruboid descendants continue to use the meaning "lip," in Northwest Yoruba speakers, the term has come to only refer to beak, with the form ètè taking the meaning "lip." See Idoma oko. Other Yoruboid descendants or related Volta-Niger languages usually have the form of "top of the mouth." A hypothetical reconstructed form *ʊ́-kpã́, (which several Yoruboid languages have), could be a synonym for lip, however it is not clear if this is a Proto-Yoruboid form, though a potential descendant form is attested with the meaning "tongue," see Ede Idaca ipán.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ù.kó/

Noun

*ù-kó

lip
Synonym: *ʊ́-kpã́
(zootomy) bird beak

Related terms

*ɛ́-lʊ̃ (“mouth”)

Descendants

Igala: ùkó
Northwest, Northeast Yoruba: ìkó (“lip”)
Central Yoruba: ùkó (“lip, beak”)