Origin of ずんぐり（むっくり）


Is ずんぐり（むっくり） at all related to/derived from [栗]{くり}?

Here is a screenshot of the Google Image results when I searched for 「[くり
キャラ](https://www.google.com/search?biw=1342&bih=986&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=%E3%81%8F%E3%82%8A%E3%80%80%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A3%E3%83%A9&oq=%E3%81%8F%E3%82%8A%E3%80%80%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A3%E3%83%A9&gs_l=img.3..0i4l2.9960.13987.0.14854.9.8.1.0.0.0.62.436.8.8.0....0...1c.1j4.64.img..0.9.437...0i4i24.LELvfXDBL48)」:

[![くり　キャラ](https://i.stack.imgur.com/yRZ3z.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/yRZ3z.jpg)

As you can see, most of these characters fit the description of ずんぐりむっくり.

So is there some kind of etymological connection here, or is this just an
adorable coincidence?




No, there's no particular reason to suppose an etymological connection between
/kuri/ and the other two words.

This /-ri/ ending is very common in mimetic adverbs, and indeed we find the
expected related term /mukumuku/ as well. There is no /zuguzugu/ that I'm
aware of, but according to the Nihon Kokugo Daijiten there is a dialect word
/zugumu/ which means "to be short and fat".

In other words, we know in similar cases that the /-ri/ is an affix and the
specific mimetic meaning is carried by the rest of the word. We have strong
evidence that this is the case here too. Therefore the most likely hypothesis
is that the appearance of /-kuri/ or /-guri/ in these two words is just a
coincidence, same as it is in /bikkuri/, /yukkuri/, etc.

**However** , it is certainly possible that the design of the _characters_ you
show was influenced by the similarity of the two words. Even if the word
/kuri/ has nothing to do with /zunguri/ etymologically speaking, an
illustrator might still notice the similarity of the words (even
subconsciously!) and let it influence her work.




No, there's no particular reason to suppose an etymological connection between
/kuri/ and the other two words.

This /-ri/ ending is very common in mimetic adverbs, and indeed we find the
expected related term /mukumuku/ as well. There is no /zuguzugu/ that I'm
aware of, but according to the Nihon Kokugo Daijiten there is a dialect word
/zugumu/ which means "to be short and fat".

In other words, we know in similar cases that the /-ri/ is an affix and the
specific mimetic meaning is carried by the rest of the word. We have strong
evidence that this is the case here too. Therefore the most likely hypothesis
is that the appearance of /-kuri/ or /-guri/ in these two words is just a
coincidence, same as it is in /bikkuri/, /yukkuri/, etc.

**However** , it is certainly possible that the design of the _characters_ you
show was influenced by the similarity of the two words. Even if the word
/kuri/ has nothing to do with /zunguri/ etymologically speaking, an
illustrator might still notice the similarity of the words (even
subconsciously!) and let it influence her work.

