Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/skula

This Proto-Slavic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Uncertain. It is not even certain if all meanings of the word descend from the same source, especially given that not all descendants agree on the place of the stress.

The meaning cheekbone is likely derived from a s-mobile variant of Proto-Balto-Slavic *káuˀlas (“bone”), which also gave Lithuanian káulas and Latvian kauls. These Slavic form differs in grammatical gender from the Baltic lemmas, however, this can be explained with the broad shape of the cheek bone (conveyed via the collective marker *-h₂), in contrast to the generic meaning of the Baltic forms.

The other meanings, conveying cleft or injury/blister, are most likely belongs to the same proto-root as *xyliti, the s-mobile counterpart of *kyla.

*skùla f

1. cheekbone
2. cleft
3. blister, disease

• *kyla (“hernia”)
• *xyliti (“to bend over, to crumble”)

• East Slavic:
  • Belarusian: ску́ла (skúla, “injury”)
  • Russian: скула́ (skulá)
    • → Polish: skuła
  • Ukrainian: ску́ла (skúla, “injury”)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:
    • Church Slavonic: скула (skula)
  • Bulgarian: ску́ла (skúla)
  • Slovene: skȗlа (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: skúla
    • Czech: skulina (“cleft”) (with *-ina extension)
  • Slovak: skulinа (“injury”) (with *-ina extension)

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “скула”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress