ゐきが【男】 : wikiga | define meaning

Cognate to Kikai (Shitooke) いぃんが yinga [jiŋ̍ŋa]; Amami (Koniya) and Okinoerabu いぃんが yinga [jiŋ̍ɡa]; Amami いぃんがー yingaa [jiŋɡaa]; Yoron をぅいが wuiga; Kunigami いぃきが yikiga [jikiɡa]; Okinawan (Takazato) うんが unga; Okinawan (Nago) いけが ikega; Okinawan (Shuri) ゐきが wikiga [(w)ikiɡa]; Okinawan (Kudaka) ゆきが yukiga; and Yonaguni びんが binga /biNɡa/ "man". Ultimately of bimorphemic origin, from Proto-Ryukyuan *weke and *ɡa.

Compare Miyako びきどぅﾑ bikidum /biki-dum/ and Yaeyama びきどぅむ bikidumu /biki-dumu/ "man". Compare also the related term *weke-ri "brother", which is いぃひり yihiri [jiçiri] in Amami (Koniya); ゐきー wikii in Okinawan; and びぎ bigi in Yonaguni.

Historical Ryukyuan attestations

• おもろさうし Omoro Saushi (1531-1623) records ゑくか wekuka (wekuga) and まへゑくか mahewekuka (mawewekuga). The word おとく otoku is also recorded.
• 混効験集 Konkoukenshuu (1711), "Words of the Royal Palace", records おめけり omekeri "term used by women to refer to male siblings", まゑけか mawekeka (mawekega) "man" and ゑけか wekeka (wekega) "man".
• Vocabulary of the language spoken at the Great Loo-Choo Island, in the Japan Sea (1818), by Herbert John Clifford, records "Man (vir). I'ckkeega § This word, which is composed of ickkee and ya (ickkee signifying there, and ga, which may possibly have been originally ya, you), appeared to me to bear a similar meaning to our you, sir, or you, there, as the natives invariably called out ickkeega, when wishing to attract the attention of any one.", "Boy (lit. a man child). Ic'kkeega wárrabee", "Men, a great many. Oowhoko Ickkeega", "A man living in the country. Ickkeegá simmá áwhfee", "Sick man. Ic'kkeega yádong", "A man running to the boat. Háyay tímma ic'kkeega".
• Journal of the Society of Arts, Volume 29 (1881) (p. 604) records uyekega "man".

Discussion

• Origin uncertain. Some authors have compared it to Japanese おとこ【男】 otoko "man" and おと【弟】 oto (Humble) "younger brother"; to Japanese おい【甥】 oi "nephew", and its variants おいっこ oikko and おいご oigo; to Hachijo おのこご onokogo "man"; as well as to Ainu オㇰカヨ okkayo "man" (recorded as oikyo in A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean (1804), by William Robert Broughton). However, phonological and syntactic differences exist.