Reconstruction:Proto-Yoruboid/ó-cù

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

Compare with Fon sùn, Ebira ohuE, Ayere oʃu, Oko-Eni-Osayen ɔ́ʃɛ̃̂. Root is suggested to be *ó- (“nominalizing prefix”) +‎ *cù (“to be round”), replacing an older root from Volta-Congo *-ki, see Edo uki. Compare with Proto-Yoruba *ɔ̀-cʊ̀kpá (“moon”) (òṣùpá), which is proposed to come from the same *cù root.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ó.cù/

Noun

*ó-cù

1. moon, month

Descendants

• Igala: óchù
• Proto-Edekiri: *o-ʧù
  • Itsekiri: uransu
  • Olukumi: osu
  • Proto-Yoruba: *o-ʧù
    • Ifè: otsù
    • Yoruba: oṣù (most dialects)
    • Onko Yoruba: ochù
    • Oyo, Ibadan, Owe Yoruba: osù
  • Proto-Yoruba: *ɔ̀-cʊ̀kpá
    • Yoruba: òṣùpá
    • Ekiti Yoruba: ọ̀ṣụ̀pá