こが【卵】 : koga | define meaning

Cognate with Kagoshima こが koga (in こがやっ kogayaq, こがやき kogayaki "fried egg"); Kikai (Aden, Kawamine) ふわ～ fuwãã [huw̃ãː]; Kikai (Shidoke) ふか゚ー funnga [huŋaː]; Amami (Yamato) [xoga]; Amami (Shodon) くが kuga [kʰuga]; Tokunoshima and Okinawa (Maejima) くが kuga; Okinoerabu, Yoron and Okinawa (Ie, Nakijin) ふが fuga; Okinawa (Nakijin) ふがー fugaa; Okinawa (Iheya) ふーが fuuga; Tokunoshima (Asama) and Okinawa (Maejima, Shuri) くーが kuuga; Miyako (Irabu) くーが kuuga [kʰuːɡa]; Tarama and Yaeyama (Ishigaki) くが kuga; and Yaeyama (Taketomi) くんが～ kungãã [kuɴgãː]  "egg". Possibly cognate with Yaeyama (Kohama, Hatoma) こーま kooma "egg".

Reconstructions

• Most sources reconstruct *koga for proto-Ryukyuan:
  • Carlino Salvator (2019)
  • Yosuke Igarashi (2016)
  • Zachary Read (2014)
  • Stewart Curry (2004)
  • Maner Thorpe (1983)
  • 沖繩語辞典 (1963)
• John R. Bentley (2008) reconstructs *koga for Proto-Sakishima.
• Maner Thorpe (1983) comments "The OJ cognate of this word was ko 'egg'. The suffix *ga is a diminutive. The Kob. and Ha. forms have *gama, another Ry. diminutive combination."

Historical attestations

• 混効験集 Konkoukenshuu (1711), "Words of the Royal Palace", records "「こかむにやい」鶏卵の事　俗語　こか共　玉子共いふ"
• Vocabulary of the language spoken at the Great Loo-Choo Island, in the Japan Sea (1811), by Herbert John Clifford, records "Egg - Tamago - Cooga" and "Eggs - Coóga"
• 沖縄語典 Okinawa goten (Okinawan language dictionary) (1896), by Masayo Nakamoto, records "「くーがーとゥッてイー」　卵取、小兒ノ遊戯ノ名", loosely translated as "Kuugaa tuttii. Egg-grabbing, the name of a children's game"

Discussion

• At least once source connects the root *koga- in the Kagoshima term こがやき kogayaki "fried egg" with the Japanese verbs こがす【焦がす】 kogasu and こがる 【焦がる】 kogaru "to burn, to char". Compare the term やけこげ【焼焦】 yakekoge and its variant やけこがし yakekogashi "char, burn, scorch".