花魁
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
[edit] Japanese
| Kanji in this term | |
| 花 | 魁 |
[edit] Etymology
A contraction of oira and the possessive marker no: oira no > oira n > oiran. Young assistants used to call their elder courtesans oira no, an ellipse for oira no neesan. The kanji are ateji.
[edit] Noun
花魁 (hiragana おいらん, romaji oiran)
- (archaic, slang) courtesan, prostitute, oiran
