Compare with Ifè kpikpa, probably from a reduplication of pa (“to be red”), which follows the general pattern of the other basic color roots, which involve a duplication of monosyllabic verbs. See dúdú (“black”), a reduplication of dú (“to be dark”) and funfun, a reduplication of fun (“to be white”). Proposed to be derived from Proto-Yoruboid *-kpa Perhaps related to Fon kpákpá (“a tree with red wood”), proposed by Westerman to be derived from Proto-Volta-Congo *pia