水鶏

See also: 水雞 and 水鷄

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
水	鶏
くいな
Grade: 1	Grade: S
jukujikun

Alternative spelling
水鷄 (kyūjitai)

/kufina/ → /kuwina/ → /kuina/

First attested in the Edo period.

Derivation uncertain. Thought to be a shift from a compound of 食い (kui, stem form of verb 食う (kuu), “to put in one's mouth, eat”) +‎ 鳴く (naku, “to call, said of a bird”). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

The kanji spelling means literally "water chicken".

Alternative forms

• 水雉, 秧鶏

Noun

1. the water rail, Rallus aquaticus

   Hypernym: 鶴 (tsuru)

Usage notes

• As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as クイナ.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 水鶏(くいな)笛(ぶえ) (kuinabue)
• 夏(ナツ)水鶏(クイナ) (natsu kuina)
• 緋(ヒ)水鶏(クイナ) (hikuina)
• 姫(ヒメ)水鶏(クイナ) (hime-kuina)
• 冬(フユ)水鶏(クイナ) (fuyu kuina)
• 眉白(マミジロ)水鶏(クイナ) (mamijiro kuina)
• 山原(ヤンバル)水鶏(クイナ) (Yanbaru kuina, “Okinawa rail”)

Proper noun

1. a female given name

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
水	鶏
すい Grade: 1	けい Grade: S
kan'on

Alternative spelling
水鷄 (kyūjitai)

From 水 (sui, “water”) +‎ 鶏 (kei, “chicken”).

Noun

1. the water rail, Rallus aquaticus

Further reading

• Etymology at Nihon Jiten (in Japanese)

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Kunigami

Noun

水鶏 (fumira) (hiragana ふみら)

1. the water rail, Rallus aquaticus

Derived terms

• 山原水鶏 (Yanbaru fumira)

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Okinawan

Noun

水鶏 (hiragana くみらー, romaji kumirā)

1. the water rail, Rallus aquaticus

Derived terms

• 山原水鶏 (Yanbaru kumirā)