くちびる【唇】 : kuchibiru | define meaning

Derived from くち【口】 kuchi "mouth" and べろ bero "tongue". Cognate to the Hachijo variants くちびろ kuchibiro and くちべろ kuchibero. Parallel to the Okinawan word くちしば kuchishiba "lips", derived from くち kuchi "mouth" and しば shiba "tongue". Attested as early as 794, in the Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki, under the spelling 【久知比流】, read kuchibiru or kuchipiru. Some sources suggest the word is ultimately a variation of くち【口】 kuchi "mouth" and the rendaku form of へり【縁】 heri "surrounding edge", giving くちべり【口縁】 kuchiberi "rim (of a bowl)" (now read with the sinitic reading kouen). If such is the case, the original form of へり【縁】  heri may have undergone various harmonic sound changes, producing variants such as hero, heri, hiro, hiru and hira.