Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/čukъ

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.

Possibly polygenetic. Proposed origins:

• For onomatopoiec meaning: From an expressive *čuti, *čьvati (“to bark, to wail”) +‎ *-kъ, parallel to Proto-Slavic *čuxъ (“growl, sniffle”). Per Snoj, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kew- (“to wail, to shout”), akin to Lithuanian kaũkti (“to howl”), Latvian kàukt (“to yell, to howl”).
• For tool meaning: From Proto-Indo-European *kewh₂- (“to hew”), related to Proto-Slavic *kyjь (“hammer”).

*čȗkъ m

1. (onomatopoeic) knock, clatter, rumble

   → pigmy owl (in Western South Slavic)

2. hammer, mallet

   Synonyms: *kyjь, *moltъ

• *čukati (“to knock, to throb”)

• *kuka (“hook”)
• *čuka (“hilltop”)
• *čuxъ (“growl, sniffle”)
• *čupъ (“crack, crook”)
• *čubъ (“forelock”)

• East Slavic:
  • Russian: чук (čuk, “part of forelock”) (dialectal)
  • Ukrainian: чук (čuk, “rumble”)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: чу́к (čúk, “hammer; knock”)
  • Macedonian: чук (čuk, “knock”)
  • Serbo-Croatian:
    • Cyrillic script: чу̏к (dialectal), ћу̑к (“pigmy owl”)
    • Latin script: čȕk (dialectal), ćȗk (“pigmy owl”)
  • Slovene: čūk (“pigmy owl”)

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1977), “*čukъ”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков (in Russian), numbers 4 (*čaběniti – *děľa), Moscow: Nauka, page 132