Reconstruction:Proto-Ryukyuan/pi
Proto-Ryukyuan
editEtymology 1
editFrom Proto-Japonic *pi (“day”).
Noun
edit*pi
Descendants
edit- Northern Ryukyuan:
- Southern Ryukyuan:
Etymology 2
editFrom Proto-Japonic *poy (“fire”).
Noun
edit*pi
Descendants
edit- Northern Ryukyuan:
- Southern Ryukyuan:
Etymology 3
editSpeculatively connected to Old Japanese ほと (poto₂, “vagina”). However, if the hypothesis that the Kojiki and some parts of the Nihon Shoki preserve the A/B distinction of po, it is that po is consistently spelled as 富 <po2>, not 本 <po1>. In this case, the vowels cannot be reconciled phonetically. See also Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b(j)at (“vulva”).
According to Nakasone (1983, 506), forms with a mid-back vowel Yoron ぽー (pō, tone class C), Kunigami ぽー (phō, tone class C), Okinawan ほー (hō, tone class BC), are derived from the following process: poo < powo < poɸo < popo, implying they sprung from a different root with the same initial p-.
Pronunciation
edit- Tone class: A
Noun
edit*pi
Descendants
edit- Northern Ryukyuan:
- Southern Ryukyuan: