しかま : shikama | define meaning

Cognate with Okinawan (Shuri, Yomitan) しかま shikama; Miyako (Uruka) すィかま sɿkama; Miyako (Ogami) [skama]; Yaeyama (Hateruma) しかま shikama and すかま sukama; Yonaguni しかま shikama "labor (to repay a debt)".

Historical attestations

• 混効験集 Konkoukenshuu (1711), "Words of the Royal Palace", records "「すかま」　四ツ時分。"

Reconstructions

• Zachary Read (2024) reconstructs *tukama for proto-Ryukyuan.
• Yosuke Igarashi (2016) reconstructs *sekama for proto-Ryukyuan.

Discussion:

• The Northern Ryukyuan and Miyako forms suggest that the initial syllable was historically *su-, while the Yaeyama and Yonaguni forms suggest that it was *tV- (compare how standard Japanese ちから【力】 chikara "strength" is すぃから [si̥kara] in Hatoma and しから shikara in Yonaguni; or how つかる【浸かる・漬かる】 tsukaru "to be pickled" is すかるん [su̥karuɴ] in Hateruma).
• A connection to the Japanese root *tsukam(as)- "grab; bribe" is unclear. Compare Kumamoto (Amakusa) つかましぇもん tsukamashemon "bribe", つかまする tsukamasuru "to bribe", つかまさるる tsukamasaruru "to make someone accept a bribe or buy inferior goods" and つかまゆる tsukamayuru "to catch, to hold".