First attested in the Seokbo sangjeol (釋譜詳節 / 석보상절), 1447, as Middle Korean 것ᄫᅡᅀᅵ〮 (Yale: kèsWàzí). The Jeju language forms 걸버시 (geolbeosi) and 걸바시 (geolbasi), which are clearly cognate to but cannot be directly descended from the Middle Korean form (which show later inter-sonorant lenition of /p/ and /s/ to /β/ and /z/), implies that the first element was derived from Sino-Korean 乞 (geol, “to beg”).
The intermediary Middle Korean form 거ᇫ워ᅀᅵ (Yale: kezwezi) is attested in the later fifteenth century. The first /z/ was regularly deleted sometime in the sixteenth century, while the second underwent an irregular fortition to /ts/, producing the Early Modern forms 거어지 (geo'eoji) and 거워지 (geowoji). These coalesced into 거지 (geoji) towards the end of the nineteenth century.
| Romanizations | |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization? | geoji |
| Revised Romanization (translit.)? | geoji |
| McCune–Reischauer? | kŏji |
| Yale Romanization? | kēci |
Syllables in red take high pitch. This word always takes high pitch only on the first syllable, and lowers the pitch of subsequent suffixes.
거지 • (geoji)