# 髑髏
## Chinese
### Etymology

Cognate with 頭顱 (OC *doː b·raː) and 𩑒顱 (MC dak|traek|trhaek lu). The first syllable 髑 (OC *doːɡ) is a Sino-Tibetan item probably from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tuk ~ *twak (“head; skull; neck”), whence also 脰 (OC *doːs, “neck”). The second syllable, 髏 (OC *roː) is likely a reduplication syllable starting with *r/*l (Schuessler, 2007). Alternatively but less likely, the second syllable is related to 婁 (OC *ɡ·roː) with a hypothetical meaning of "empty" or "dried" (see 婁婁／娄娄 (“empty”)); compare Mizo lu ro (“skull”) (lit. "dried head"), with the second syllable ro meaning "dry".
Words that appear similar to 髑髏 (OC *doːɡ roː) include 顱 (MC lu, “skull”) and Khmer រលា (rɔliə, “forehead; cranium; skull”).

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): dúlóu
    (Zhuyin): ㄉㄨˊ ㄌㄡˊ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): duk$^6$ lau$^4$
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): to̍k-lô͘
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: dúlóu
*** Zhuyin: ㄉㄨˊ ㄌㄡˊ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: dúlóu
*** Wade–Giles: tu$^2$-lou$^2$
*** Yale: dú-lóu
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dwulou
*** Palladius: дулоу (dulou)
*** Sinological IPA : /tu³⁵ loʊ̯³⁵/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: duk$^6$ lau$^4$
*** Yale: duhk làuh
*** Cantonese Pinyin: duk$^9$ lau$^4$
*** Guangdong Romanization: dug$^6$ leo$^4$
*** Sinological IPA : /tʊk̚² lɐu̯²¹/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: to̍k-lô͘
*** Tâi-lô: to̍k-lôo
*** Phofsit Daibuun: dogloo
*** IPA (Xiamen): /tɔk̚⁴⁻³² lɔ²⁴/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /tɔk̚²⁴⁻² lɔ²⁴/
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /tɔk̚¹²¹⁻²¹ lɔ¹³/
*** IPA (Taipei): /tɔk̚⁴⁻³² lɔ²⁴/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /tɔk̚⁴⁻³² lɔ²³/
* Middle Chinese: duwk luw
Rime :
| Character | 髑 | 髏 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 定 (7) | 來 (37) |
| Final (韻) | 屋 (3) | 侯 (137) |
| Tone (調) | Checked (Ø) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Open |
| Division (等) | I | I |
| Fanqie | 徒谷切 | 落侯切 |
| Baxter | duwk | luw |
| Reconstructions |||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /duk̚/ | /ləu/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /duk̚/ | /ləu/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /duk̚/ | /ləu/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /dəwk̚/ | /ləw/ |
| Li Rong | /duk̚/ | /lu/ |
| Wang Li | /duk̚/ | /ləu/ |
| Bernard Karlgren | /dʱuk̚/ | /lə̯u/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | dú | lóu |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | duk$^6$ | lau$^4$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Zhengzhang): /*doːɡ roː/
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 髑 | 髏 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| No. | 11819 | 8459 |
| Phonetic component | 蜀 | 婁 |
| Rime group | 屋 | 侯 |
| Rime subdivision | 0 | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 獨 | 樓 |
| Old Chinese | /*doːɡ/ | /*roː/ |

### Noun

髑髏
* skull of a corpse
    From: Zhuangzi, circa 3rd – 2nd centuries BCE
    Zhuāngzǐ zhī Chǔ, jiàn kōng dúlóu. [Pinyin]
    When Zhuangzi went to Chu, he saw an empty skull.
* head of a corpse

## Japanese
### Etymology 1

Kanji in this term :
| 髑 | 髏 |
| どく Hyōgai | ろ Hyōgai |
| goon | kan'yōon |
From Middle Chinese 髑髏 (MC duwk luw, “skull”).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) どくろ [dóꜜkùrò] (Atamadaka –)
* IPA: [do̞kɯ̟ɾo̞]

#### Noun

髑(どく)髏(ろ) • (dokuro)
* a weathered clean skull
* a death's head

##### Derived terms

* 髑(どく)髏(ろ)崇(すう)拝(はい) (dokuro sūhai): a skull cult
* 髑(どく)髏(ろ)杯(はい) (dokurohai): a goblet made from a skull

### Etymology 2

Kanji in this term :
| 髑 | 髏 |
| されこうべ ||
| Hyōgai | Hyōgai |
| jukujikun ||
/sarekaube/ → /sarekɔːbe/ → /sarekoːbe/
Compound of 曝れ (sare, “weathering”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 曝れる (sareru, “to weather, to degrade in color or form due to long exposure to wind, rain, and sun”)) +‎ 頭 (kōbe, “head”).
The kanji spelling is an example of jukujikun (熟字訓).
The fricative readings are less common, and derive as shifts from sarekōbe:
* /sarekoːbe/ → /ɕarekoːbe/
* /sarekoːbe/ → /ɕarekoːbe/ → /ɕarikoːbe/

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) されこーべ [sàrékóꜜòbè] (Nakadaka –)
* IPA: [sa̠ɾe̞ko̞ːbe̞]
* (Tokyo) しゃれこーべ [shàrékóꜜòbè] (Nakadaka –)
* IPA: [ɕa̠ɾe̞ko̞ːbe̞]
* (Tokyo) しゃりこーべ [shàríkóꜜòbè] (Nakadaka – [3])
* IPA: [ɕa̠ɾʲiko̞ːbe̞]

#### Noun

髑髏(されこうべ) • (sarekōbe)  (alternative reading hiragana しゃれこうべ, rōmaji sharekōbe, historical hiragana しやれかうべ) (alternative reading hiragana しゃりこうべ, rōmaji sharikōbe, historical hiragana しやりかうべ)
* a weathered clean skull

##### Synonyms

Basic sense of skull:
* 頭(かしら)骨(ぼね) (kashirabone), 頭(とう)骨(こつ) (tōkotsu)
* 頭(ず)蓋(がい) (zugai), 頭(とう)蓋(がい) (tōgai)
* 頭(ず)蓋(がい)骨(こつ) (zugaikotsu), 頭(とう)蓋(がい)骨(こつ) (tōgaikotsu)

### References

* 1 2 3 4 5 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* 1 2 3 4 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
* 1 2 3 4 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* ↑ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN