二尸

Old Korean

Etymology

May be related to Baekje 矣毛邑 (*iterəp, “two”).

Pronunciation

As 尸 is a phonogram for coda consonant *-l, the form is clearly ancestral to Middle Korean 둟〯 (Yale: twǔlh).

The twelfth-century wordlist Jilin leishi transcribes this word with the Chinese characters 途孛, whose Late Middle Chinese pronunciation is reconstructed as */tɦuo pɦuət̚/. As Leishi */-t̚/ was used to transcribe Old Korean */-l/ or */-r/, the transcription suggests an Old Korean pronunciation of 二尸 as roughly *twupúl. This is supported by the conservative Yukjin dialect form 두울 (twuwúl), which preserves the disyllabic form and where */p/ appears to have disappeared but after labializing the subsequent vowel.

Numeral

二尸 (*TWUPUl)

1. two
   • c. 760, 希明 (Huimyeong), “禱千手觀音歌 (Docheonsugwaneum-ga)”, in 三國遺事 (Samguk Yusa) [Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms]:

     二尸掌音毛乎攴 內良

     *TWUPUl-q SWON-S-POLOm mwo-two-ti a-a

     pressing and pressing my two palms together, and with devotion

Descendants

• Middle Korean: 둟〯 (twǔlh, “two”).
  • Early Modern Korean: 둟 (twulh, “two”)
    • Korean: 둘 (dul, “two”)
  • Jeju: 둘 (dul, “two”)

References

• 박지용 外 (Park Ji-yong et al.) (2012) 향가 해독 자료집 [hyangga haedok jaryojip, A Sourcebook of Hyangga Interpretations], Seoul National University, page 90
• 남풍현 (Nam Pung-hyun) (2017) “도천수관음가의 새로운 해독 [docheonsugwaneumgaui saeroun haedok, A new reading of the Docheonsugwaneum-ga]”, in Gugyeol Yeon'gu, volume 45, pages 7–29