Proto-Altaic: *k`ep`orV
Meaning: curved bone
Russian meaning: кривая кость
Comments: Turk. forms may be < Mong. Note that the TM forms have nothing to do with Mong. ebčeɣün 'breast bone', despite Doerfer MT 20, Rozycki 65. The word probably had the original meaning 'rib', preserved in Western languages; the Korean and Japanese forms cannot be kept apart, but they deserve special comment: in both languages the root was naturally influenced by the reflexes of *kŏp`é 'bend' (q. v.); the Japanese form is also aberrant accentologically, shows rather *-m- than *-p- - and may in fact be a merger of the present root with PA *k`i̯ome 'marrow'.
