矢柄

Japanese

Kanji in this term
矢	柄
や Grade: 2	から > がら Grade: S
kun’yomi

Alternative spellings
矢幹 簳 (rare)

Etymology

Compound of 矢 (ya, “arrow”) +‎ 柄 (kara, “shaft”). The kara changes to gara as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

First cited to roughly 934 in the Wamyō Ruijushō.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) やがら [yàgárá] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ja̠ɡa̠ɾa̠]

Noun

矢(や)柄(がら) or 矢柄(ヤガラ) • (yagara) 

1. [from circa 934] the shaft of an arrow
2. [from 1687] the cornetfish, members of genus Fistularia (from the long and thin body shape, resembling the shaft of an arrow)

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 ヤガラ.

Derived terms

• 赤(あか)矢(や)柄(がら) (aka yagara, “red cornetfish, Fistularia petimba”)
• 青(あお)矢(や)柄(がら) (ao yagara, “bluespotted cornetfish, Fistularia commersonii”)
• 矢(や)柄(がら)投(な)げ (yagara nage, “a kind of throw in sumo”)