むら

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spellings
群 叢 (uncommon) 簇 (rare)

Analyzed by some references as an alternative form or older form of 群れ (mure, “a group, a gathering”), itself traceable to classical verb 群(む)る (muru, “to gather, to group together”), modern form 群れる (mureru).

First cited in the Kojiki of 712.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mɯ̟ɾa̠]

Noun

むら • (mura) 

1. 群, 叢, 簇: gathering, grouping

Affix

むら • (mura) 

1. 群, 叢, 簇: gathering, grouping

Usage notes

Often found as a compounding element, as either prefix as in Old Japanese 群山 (murayama, “mountain range, group of mountains”) or suffix as in Old Japanese 家群 (ipemura, “group of houses, settlement, village”).

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of むら – see the following entry.

【村】1 [noun] village (a rural habitation of size between a hamlet and a town) Alternative spelling 𨛗

(This term, むら (mura), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.) For a list of all kanji read as むら, see Category:Japanese kanji read as むら.

Etymology 3

Alternative spellings
斑 ムラ

Ultimate derivation unknown. Perhaps sound-symbolic.

First cited to a text from 1275.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mɯ̟ɾa̠]
• (Tokyo) むら [mùrá] (Heiban – [0])

Noun

むら or ムラ • (mura) 

1. 斑: a design like marble or spots
2. (by extension) having variation or fluctuation

   むらがある

   mura ga aru

   uneven, variable

   むらがない

   mura ga nai

   even, uniform

   回(かい)転(てん)むら

   kaiten mura

   unsteady rotation