Комментарии:VEWT 43, Martin 234. Note a common Altaic derivation in *-kV, reflected in all languages except Turkic; for TM we suppose a semantic development 'sheath' < 'receptacle' < 'inside, middle'. Jpn. has lost the first vowel in this archaic trisyllabic structure, and Kor. has rising tone also due to contraction.
