고마ᄂᆞᄅᆞ

Middle Korean

Etymology

Equivalent to 곰〯 (kwǒm, “bear”) +‎ ᄂᆞᄅᆞ (nòlò, “ford”). The name of the town was also historically written with logograms as 熊津 (Ung Jin, “Bear Ford”).

The first element preserves the ancestral form of Middle Korean 곰〯 (kwǒm). The rising pitch in the latter word implies that the pre-Middle Korean form was bisyllabic, and a parallel likely exists in Japanese 熊 (kuma, “bear”).

This toponym is first attested in the eighth-century Japanese history Nihon Shoki, which writes the Baekje name of the same town as 久麻那利 (*Kuma-nari).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kò.má.nʌ̀.lʌ̀/, [kò.má.nʌ̀.ɾʌ̀]

Proper noun

고마〮ᄂᆞᄅᆞ (Kwòmánòlò) (hanja 熊津)

1. Gongju, ancient capital town of the kingdom of Baekje