ごぼう

See also: こほう, こぼう, and ごほう

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spellings
牛蒡 午蒡 (dated) 牛房 (obsolete) 午房 (obsolete)

Certainly from Middle Chinese 牛蒡 (MC ngjuw pangX), but with a shift from the expected go-on reading of *guhō (or with rendaku as *gubō); compare Korean 우엉 (ueong).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ごぼー [gòbóó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɡo̞bo̞ː]

Noun

ごぼう or ゴボウ • (gobō) ^{←ごばう (gobau)?}

1. burdock (Arctium lappa)
2. burdock root

Usage notes

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

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of ごぼう – see the following entry: 御坊

(The following entry is uncreated: 御坊.)