マテガイ
Japanese
Etymology
| Alternative spellings |
|---|
| 蟶貝 馬刀貝 馬蛤貝 |
Uncertain. Appears to be a compound of 真手 (mate, “both hands together”) + 貝 (kai, “clam, shell”), presumably from the shape of the shell. The kai changes to gai as an instance of rendaku (連濁). The kanji spellings of mate are ateji.
Pronunciation
Noun
マテガイ or まてがい • (mategai) ←まてがひ (mategafi)?
- a razor clam, more specifically Gould's razor shell: Solen strictus.
Usage notes
As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary).
Synonyms
References
- ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ^ 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