っゑーく・うぇーく : qweeku · 'weeku | define meaning

Cognate with Kagoshima (Takarajima) いやこ iyako; Kikai よー yoo; Amami and Okinoerabu っよー qyoo; Amami いご igo, よほ yoho; Amami (Yuwan) ゆー yuu; Tokunoshima (Asama) いやこ iyako; Yoron やふ yahu; Kunigami (Uka) ぐぇーく gweeku; Kunigami (Nakijin) えーくー eekuu; Okinawan (Kumejima) えーく eeku and いぇーく qyeeku; Okinawan (Shuri, Kumejima, Ogimi) っゑーく qweeku; Okinawan (Shuri) えーく eeku; Okinawan (Itoman) ゑーく weeku; Miyako (Hirara, Tarama, Nakachi, Nagahama) っざく zzaku / ɿzaku; Miyako (Ōgami) うあく ɯaku; Yaeyama いやぐ iyagu; Yaeyama (Hatoma) やく yaku; Yaeyama (Taketomi) よー yoo; Yonaguni だぐ dagu and だく゚ danngu "oar, paddle". Attested as a classifier for rowing strokes in Yaeyama (Hatoma).

Historical Ryukyuan attestations

• Vocabulary of the language spoken at the Great Loo-Choo Island, in the Japan Sea (1818), by Herbert John Clifford, records "Paddle of a canoe. Wayácoo" and "An oar. Wayacoo". 
• Essay in Aid of a Grammar and Dictionary of the Luchuan Language (1895), by Basil Hall Chamberlain, records "wwēku, oar". 
• 沖縄語典 Okinawa goten (Okinawan language dictionary) (1896), by Masayo Nakamoto, records the spelling うえーく ueeku "oar, paddle".

Reconstructions

• Reconstructed as *iyako, *iwako and *(U)yako in different sources.

Discussion

• Often observed in a compound beginning with とぅむ【艫】 tumu "stern". For example, Yaeyama (Hatoma) とぅむやく tumuyaku "stern oar, stern oarsman, coxswain". Compare the Japanese terms ともがい【艫櫂】 tomogai and ともろ【艫櫓・艫艪】 tomoro, both used to refer to the oar or oarsman located at the stern of a boat or ship. Also compare わきろ【脇櫓・脇艪】 wakiro and わいかじ【脇楫・脇舵】 waikaji, both used to refer to the oars or oarsmen located on the side of a boat or ship and sometimes at the stern.