ずぼん
Japanese
Etymology 1
Onomatopoeia. The zu portion indicates something rubbing or sliding (compare verb 擦る suru, “to rub or slide”), and the bon portion indicates something bumping to a stop or softly popping into or out of place.
This term appears in print in 1860,[1] raising the possibility that the onomatopoeia sense arose from the borrowed noun ズボン (“trousers”) and the action of putting on a pair of trousers. The initial zu portion does not historically refer to rubbing or sliding, but instead more commonly carries negative connotations of abnormal or sloppy. Alternatively, this is a colloquial term, and it may have been a dialect term, and thus it might be older than its history in print.
Pronunciation
Adverb
- (onomatopoeia) imitative of the sound of something rubbing or sliding and then bumping into place or coming out of place
- 1860, 七偏人 (Shichi Henjin, “Seven Eccentrics”), volume 4:[2]
- 丸くずぼんと穴の明いた古犢鼻褌を…
- maruku zubon to ana no aita furu fundoshi o…
- [taking] the old loincloth with a round hole just plop hanging open...
- 丸くずぼんと穴の明いた古犢鼻褌を…
- 1860, 七偏人 (Shichi Henjin, “Seven Eccentrics”), volume 4:[2]
Usage notes
Takes the particle と (to), as in the quoted example above.
Etymology 2
Alternative form of ズボン (zubon, “trousers”). See that entry for more detail.
Pronunciation
- (Tokyo) ずぼん [zùbóꜜǹ] (Nakadaka – [2])[3][4]
- (Tokyo) ずぼん [zúꜜbòǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])[3][4]
- IPA(key): [d͡zɨbõ̞ɴ]
Noun
- ズボン: trousers (UK), pants (AUS, Canada, US), strides (AUS)
- Generally refers specifically to mens' trousers.
References
- ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ^ 1857-1863, seven volumes published one a year, 妙竹林話 七偏人 (Myō Takebayashi-banashi: Shichi Henjin, “Strange Tales from the Bamboo Forest: Seven Eccentrics”) (in Japanese), by 梅亭 金鵞 (Baitei Kinga); re-published in 1983, Tōkyō: Kodansha, →ISBN
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN