Reconstruction:Proto-Yoruboid/é-gwṹ

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

From *é- (“nominalizing prefix”) +‎ *gwṹ (“to die; kill”). The root *gwṹ almost certainly relates to die or kill, and likely related to Proto-Yoruboid *kú, see there for cognates. Cognate Proto-Volta-Niger *kú, ultimately from Proto-Atlantic-Congo. Within Volta-Niger languages, see Fon kú, Ewe *kuku, (Proto-Gbe *kú), amongs others. Doublet of *ò-gwṹ and more distantly, Doublet of *ò-kú.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /é.ɡʷṹ/

Noun

*é-gwṹ

1. corpse, dead body

Proper noun

*é-gwṹ

1. ancestral spirit; masked or costumed figure (Egungun) that represent ancestors

Descendants

• Igala: égwú, Égwú
• Yoruba: Eégún, Egúngún
• Ekiti Yoruba: Egígún