猿

See also: 猨

Translingual

Han character

猿 (Kangxi radical 94, 犬+10, 13 strokes, cangjie input 大竹土口女 (KHGRV), four-corner 4423₂, composition ⿰犭袁)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 716, character 19
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 20584
• Dae Jaweon: page 1128, character 9
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1361, character 15
• Unihan data for U+733F

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		猿
alternative forms		猨

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (袁) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
薳	*ɢʷalʔ
袁	*ɢʷan
園	*ɢʷan
轅	*ɢʷan
猿	*ɢʷan
榬	*ɢʷan
溒	*ɢʷan
遠	*ɢʷanʔ, *ɢʷans

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ɢʷan) : semantic 犭 + phonetic 袁 (OC *ɢʷan).

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b/g-woj-n (“monkey”).

Alternatively, the root may be Austroasiatic; compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *swaaʔ (“monkey”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 猿

1. ape

See also

• 猴 (hóu)

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji

猿

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

1. monkey

Readings

• Go-on: おん (on)
• Kan-on: えん (en, Jōyō)^{←ゑん (wen, historical)}
• Kun: さる (saru, 猿, Jōyō); まし (mashi, 猿); ましら (mashira, 猿ら)
• Nanori: さ (sa); さわ (sawa)

Etymology 1

猿 (saru, mashi, mashira): a monkey, specifically a Japanese macaque.

Kanji in this term
猿
さる Grade: S
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Appears in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE.

Ultimate derivation possibly borrowed from Ainu サロ (saro, “monkey”, from サㇻ (sar, “a tail”) + オ (o, “to bear, to wear, to carry”)).

The kanji is from Chinese 猿 (yuán, “ape”). Compare Japanese 猪 (inoshishi, “boar”) from Chinese 猪 (zhū, “pig”) and Japanese 豚 (buta, “pig”) from Chinese 豚 (tún, “suckling pig”).

Noun

猿(さる) or 猿(サル) • (saru)  (counter 匹)

1. a monkey (primate)
   • 1079, Konkōmyō Saishōōkyō Ongi, page 10 (back):

     猕猴 二字合訓佐流

2. Short for 日本猿 (Nihonzaru, “Japanese macaque”).
3. (loosely) an ape (animal)
   • 1988 July 30 [1984 July 25], Fujiko F. Fujio, “世(せ)界(かい)名(めい)作(さく)童(どう)話(わ)第(だい)３巻(かん) うらしま太(た)郎(ろう) (世(せ)界(かい)名(めい)作(さく)童(どう)話(わ)第(だい)３巻(かん) うらしま太(た)郎(ろう)) [World’s Renowned Fairy Tales Book 3: Urashima Tarō]”, in ポストの中の明日 [Post-Mid-Tomorrow] (藤子不二雄少年SF短編集; 2), 10th edition, volume 2 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 117:

     地(ち)球(きゅう)は、サルのわく星(せい)になっていましたとさ。

     Chikyū wa, saru no wakusei ni natte imashita to sa.

     Meanwhile, Earth became the Planet of the Apes.

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 サル.

Descendants

• → Yami: sazo

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 日(ニ)本(ホン)猿(ザル) (Nihonzaru)
• 狐(キツネ)猿(ザル) (kitsunezaru)
• 猿(さる)も木(き)から落(お)ちる (saru mo ki kara ochiru)
• 申(さる) (saru)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
猿
まし Grade: S
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Appears in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE, used phonetically to spell the sound /masi/.

Ultimate derivation unknown.

Noun

猿(まし) • (mashi) 

1. (archaic, possibly obsolete) a monkey

Usage notes

This form seems to be used less often than mashira below.

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
猿
ましら Grade: S
kun'yomi

Derived from earlier mashi form above. Found in texts from the early 1900s, possibly earlier. Appears to be mashi + the pluralizing and genericizing suffix ら (ra).

Noun

猿(ましら) • (mashira) 

1. (archaic) a monkey

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
猿
えん Grade: S
kan'on

From Middle Chinese 猿 (MC hjwon).

The kan'on pronunciation, so likely a later borrowing.

Affix

猿(えん) • (en) ^{←ゑん (wen)?}

1. monkey

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 猿(えん)臂(ぴ) (enpi): a monkey's elbow; someone skilled at archery
• 類人猿(るいじんえん) (ruijin'en): an anthropoid

References

• Tsukishima, Hiroshi (1079) Kojisho Ongi Shūsei 12: Konkōmyō Saishōōkyō Ongi (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Kyūko Shoin, published 1979, →ISBN.

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Korean

Hanja

猿 • (won) (hangeul 원, revised won, McCune–Reischauer wŏn, Yale wen)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

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Vietnamese

Han character

(deprecated template usage) 猿 (viên, vượn, ươi)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Readings

• Nôm: viên, vượn

References

• Thiều Chửu : Hán Việt Tự Điển Hà Nội 1942
• Trần Văn Chánh: Từ Điển Hán Việt NXB Trẻ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999
• Vũ Văn Kính: Đại Tự Điển Chữ Nôm, NXB Văn Nghệ, Ho Chi Minh Ville