でかい

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Japanese

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Found in Hida dialect during the Edo period.[1]

Generally considered to be a variation from どいかい (doikai), from the emphasizing prefix (do-, very) and the adjective 厳い (ikai, great, huge, many). The Nihon Kokugo Daijiten states that the sound change of /doikai//dekai/ does not match the facts of the term's development. However, the /oi//e/ sound shift is quite common in Japanese, and the question may hinge on which form appeared first, でかい (dekai) or でっかい (dekkai). If でかい (dekai) evolved from でっかい (dekkai) instead of the other way around, the do + ikai derivation would not explain the geminate /-kk-/ in でっかい (dekkai). The Nihon Kokugo Daijiten suggests an alternative derivation of でこ (deko, hugely, enormously, adverb; old slang or dialect term, persisting in modern でこでこ (dekodeko)) + 厳い (ikai, great, huge, many):[2] */deko ikai/ → */dekoikai/ → */dekekai//dekkai//dekai/.

Also said to be the adjective form of でかし, from いでかす, transitive of 出で来 (ideku, to appear).[3] However, the semantic development required for this is improbable, and this is more likely a folk etymology.

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「でかい
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) でかく かく
[déꜜkàkù]
[dèkáꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形) でかい [dèkáꜜì]
Attributive (連体形) でかい [dèkáꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative でかくない かくない
くない
[déꜜkàkùnàì]
[dèkáꜜkùnàì]
Informal past でかかった かかった
かった
[déꜜkàkàttà]
[dèkáꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past でかくなかった かくなかった
くなかった
[déꜜkàkùnàkàttà]
[dèkáꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal でかいです いです [dèkáꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive でかくて かくて
くて
[déꜜkàkùtè]
[dèkáꜜkùtè]
Conditional でかければ かければ
ければ
[déꜜkàkèrèbà]
[dèkáꜜkèrèbà]

Adjective

[edit]

でかい (dekai-i (adverbial でかく (dekaku))

  1. (colloquial) huge, big, severe, intense

Inflection

[edit]

Synonyms

[edit]

Derived terms

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ 江戸時代の飛騨方言・でかい”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)[1], 2017 July 15 (last accessed), archived from the original on 6 November 2018
  2. ^ 知ってそうで知らない「でかい」の語源 : 李も桃もモモのうち。
  3. ^ でかい - 語源由来辞典
  4. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN