マテガイ

Japanese

マテガイ: Gould's razor shell

Etymology

Alternative spellings
蟶貝 馬刀貝 馬蛤貝

Uncertain. Appears to be a compound of 真手 (mate, “both hands together”) +‎ 貝 (kai, “clam, shell”), presumably from the shape of the shell. The kai changes to gai as an instance of rendaku (連濁). The kanji spellings of mate are ateji.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) マテ​ガイ [màtéꜜgàì] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [ma̠te̞ɡa̠i]

Noun

マテガイ or まてがい • (mategai) ^{←まてがひ (mategafi)?}

1. a razor clam, more specifically Gould's razor shell: Solen strictus.

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary).

Synonyms

• 馬刀(まて), 馬蛤(まて), 蟶(まて) (mate)