馬鍬

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
馬	鍬
うま Grade: 2	くわ > ぐわ Jinmeiyō
kun’yomi

Compound of 馬 (uma, “horse”) +‎ 鍬 (kuwa, “hoe”), in reference to the practice of using horses to pull, and the shape of the tool as a horizontal support with metal teeth protruding downward, somewhat similar to the way the metal blade of a hoe points downward from the handle when held horizontally.

The umaguwa pronunciation appears to be the original form of the word. First cited to the Wamyō Ruijushō of 934.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) うまぐわ [ùmágúwá] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɯ̟ᵝma̠ɡɯ̟ᵝɰᵝa̠]

Noun

馬(うま)鍬(ぐわ) • (umaguwa) ^{←うまぐは (umagufa)?}

1. [from 934] a harrow (farm implement)
2. [from 934] a rake (farm implement)
3. [from 934] a kind of light plow (farm implement)

Usage notes

The Japanese term refers to a kind of tool configuration that most overlaps with the English term harrow. In certain configurations, it might instead be considered a kind of rake, as a finer tool for smoothing the surface of a field, or as a kind of light plow, as a stronger tool for cutting into the surface of a field.

Synonyms

• 万能(まんのう) (mannō, literally “10,000 capabilities”)
• 馬歯(うまは) (umaha, rare, possibly obsolete, literally “horse tooth”)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
馬	鍬
うま > ま Grade: 2	くわ > ぐわ Jinmeiyō
irregular	kun’yomi

Sound shift from umaguwa.

• /umaɡuwa/ → /maɡuwa/

First cited to around the late 1300s.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) まぐわ [màgúwá] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ma̠ɡɯ̟ᵝɰᵝa̠]

Noun

馬(ま)鍬(ぐわ) • (maguwa) ^{←まぐは (magufa)?}

1. [from late 1300s] a harrow (farm implement)
   • 1956, 伊藤永之介, 押しかけ女房‎^[3], 青空文庫:

     ガバ／＼と音(おと)立(た)てて進(すす)む馬鍬(まぐは)のあとに、両側(りやうがは)から流(なが)れ寄(よ)つて来(く)る饀(あん)みたいな泥(どろ)の海(うみ)に掻(か)き残(のこ)された大(おほ)きな土塊(つちくれ)の島(しま)が浮(うか)ぶ。

     Gabagaba to oto tatete susumu maguwa no ato ni, ryōgawa kara nagareyotte kuru an mitai na doro no umi ni kakinokosareta ōkina tsuchikure no shima ga ukabu.

     The harrow moved forward while making sloshing noises, and in its tracks was a large island of dirt, left unscraped in the red-bean-paste-like sea of mud that flowed in from both sides.

2. [from late 1300s] a rake (farm implement)
3. [from late 1300s] a kind of light plow (farm implement)

Usage notes

The Japanese term refers to a kind of tool configuration that most overlaps with the English term harrow. In certain configurations, it might instead be considered a kind of rake, as a finer tool for smoothing the surface of a field, or as a kind of light plow, as a stronger tool for cutting into the surface of a field.

Synonyms

• 万能(まんのう) (mannō, literally “10,000 capabilities”)
• 馬歯(うまは) (umaha, rare, possibly obsolete, literally “horse tooth”)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
馬	鍬
ま > まん Grade: 2	くわ > が Jinmeiyō
irregular

Sound shift from maguwa.

Historically, the labial glide gwa was spelled ぐわ (guwa). The historically attested mangwa reading likely arose due to this spelling convention, and then mangwa became manga when gwa later merged into ga.

• /maɡuwa/ → /maŋɡuwa/ → /maŋɡwa/ → /maŋɡa/

First cited to 1595 with the pronunciation mangwa, prior to the gwa → ga merger.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) まんが [màńgá] (Heiban – [0])
• (Tokyo) まんが​ [màńgáꜜ] (Odaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [mã̠ŋɡa̠]

Noun

馬(まん)鍬(が) • (manga) ^{←まんぐわ (mangwa)?}

1. [from 1595] alternative form of 馬鍬 (maguwa)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
馬	鍬
ま > まん Grade: 2	くわ > ぐわ Jinmeiyō
irregular	kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
万鍬 (rare)

Sound shift from maguwa.

• /maɡuwa/ → /maŋɡuwa/

Might have arisen, or persisted, in part from influence of the synonym 万能 (mannō); the term 万 (man, “ten thousand”) is often prepended to various terms to signify "multi-use". Consider the rare alternative spelling 万鍬 (manguwa).

Date of first appearance unclear, but it would have been before the 1595 citation for phonologically derived form manga.

May be a rare or dialectal pronunciation in modern usage. Not included at all in some dictionaries, and included only as a note under the manga reading in some others.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mã̠ŋɡɯ̟ᵝɰᵝa̠]

Noun

馬(まん)鍬(ぐわ) • (manguwa) ^{←まんぐは (mangufa)?}

1. [from some time before 1595] (rare) alternative form of 馬鍬 (maguwa)