Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/xoxolъ

Unclear. Possibly from earlier *koxolъ (cf. Slovak kochol), itself possibly from earlier *kosolъ, from *kosa (“hair”) +‎ *-olъ. The irregular development of the word may have been influenced by the semantically close *vьrxolъ (“tip, peak”).[1]

*xoxolъ m

1. crest, topknot, tuft of hair or feathers

   Synonyms: *čubъ, *čupъ

• East Slavic:
  • Belarusian: хахо́л (xaxól, “crest, topknot, tuft of hair”)
    • ⇒ Belarusian: хо́хлик (xóxlik, “imp living behind the stove”) (dialectal)
  • Middle Russian: хохолъ (xoxol) (17ᵗʰ cent.)
    • ⇒ Middle Russian: Хохолъ (Xoxol, “given name”) (15ᵗʰ cent.)
    • ⇒ Middle Russian: хохолъ́къ (xoxolók, “ruffe”) (16ᵗʰ cent.)
      • Russian: хохоло́к (xoxolók, “haybale”)
    • Russian: хохо́л (xoxól, “crest, topknot, tuft of hair; khokhol; small ruffe”)
      • ⇒ Russian: хо́холь (xóxolʹ, “mealworms”) (dialectal)
      • ⇒ Russian: хохо́лье (xoxólʹje, “rags (pieces of cloth)”)
      • → Polish: chachoł (“khokhol”)
  • Ukrainian: хохо́л (xoxól, “topknot, tuft of hair; earwig”); хахо́л (xaxól, “place missed during mowing”) (dialectal)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: хо̂́ха̣л (hốhạl, “ragamuffin”) (dialectal)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: chochol
  • Old Polish: chochoł
    • Polish: chochoł, chochół; χaχůu̯ (“forelock, crest, collar”) (dialectal)
  • Slovak: chochol; chochel (dialectal)
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: chochoł
    • Upper Sorbian: khochoł

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1981), “*xoxolъ”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 8 (*xa – *jьvьlga), Moscow: Nauka, page 54
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (2012), “хохо́л”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), volumes 6 (У – Я), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, →ISBN, page 205
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “хохол”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress