ごーやー
Okinawan
editEtymology
editAppears to be derived from ごーいー (gōī, “crippled foot”), with the suffix *あー (*-ā, “nominalizer”) attached. The word itself, is likely an irregular change of Proto-Ryukyuan elements *niga (“bitter”) + *ori (“melon”).
Cognate with Kunigami ごーやー (gōyā, “bitter melon”, Nakijin-Yonamine dialect), Miyako ごーら (gōra, “bitter melon”, Irabu-Nakachi dialect), Yonaguni ぐや (guya, “bitter melon”).
Pronunciation
editNoun
editごーやー (gōyā)
- bitter gourd, bitter melon
- ごーやーちゃんぷるー
- gōyāchanpurū
- bitter melon stir fry
- ごーやーちゃんぷるー
- a crippled foot
Descendants
edit- → Japanese: ゴーヤー (gōyā)
References
edit- National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (2001 [1963]) 沖縄語辞典 (Okinawa-go Jiten) [Dictionary of the Okinawan Language] (in Japanese), Tokyo (東京): Zaimushō Insatsu Kyoku (財務省印刷局), page 191
Further reading
edit- “ごーやー【苦瓜】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.