[父]{ちち} vs. [乳]{ちち} — father vs. breast


Can one differentiate by pronunciation between [父]{ちち} and [乳]{ちち} (as for 雨
and 飴)?

If not, does anyone have a reasonable explanation for why 父 and 乳 have the
same pronunciation? It seems unlikely that they stem from the same word, which
was assigned two different characters, when 漢字 were imported from China...




父 and 乳 cannot be differentiated by pronunciation (including accentation).

While the word titi "father" is attested in Old Japanese (8th century), titi
"breasts" is not extant until the 17th century. However, it is more
complicated than that. titi "breasts" is a reduplication of ti "breasts" which
is extant in OJ. Also, titi "father" seems to be a reduplication of ti, a
suffix attached to men. This can be seen in ooZI, hikoZI, and maro ga TI. The
last one hints that ti may function as "father" on its own as well.

One possible motivation for ti > titi "father" is due to regularization with
haha "mother", which repeats the same syllable twice. The ultimate etymology
of both ti are unknown. Perhaps ti "father" is related to ti "blood" (血) as in
what links a family. Other speculation is possible.




父 and 乳 cannot be differentiated by pronunciation (including accentation).

While the word titi "father" is attested in Old Japanese (8th century), titi
"breasts" is not extant until the 17th century. However, it is more
complicated than that. titi "breasts" is a reduplication of ti "breasts" which
is extant in OJ. Also, titi "father" seems to be a reduplication of ti, a
suffix attached to men. This can be seen in ooZI, hikoZI, and maro ga TI. The
last one hints that ti may function as "father" on its own as well.

One possible motivation for ti > titi "father" is due to regularization with
haha "mother", which repeats the same syllable twice. The ultimate etymology
of both ti are unknown. Perhaps ti "father" is related to ti "blood" (血) as in
what links a family. Other speculation is possible.

