蜻蛉

Chinese

		dragonfly
trad. (蜻蛉)		蜻	蛉
simp. #(蜻蛉)		蜻	蛉

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): qīnglíng

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄥ ㄌㄧㄥˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): cing¹ ling⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qīnglíng
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄥ ㄌㄧㄥˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cinglíng
    • Wade–Giles: chʻing¹-ling²
    • Yale: chīng-líng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chingling
    • Palladius: цинлин (cinlin)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ liŋ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: cing¹ ling⁴
    • Yale: chīng lìhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsing¹ ling⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: qing¹ ling⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ lɪŋ²¹/

Noun

(deprecated template usage) 蜻蛉

1. dragonfly

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

/toɴboː/ → /toɴbo/

Shift from earlier tonbō, shortening the final vowel. Now the most common reading of this term.

The kanji are jukujikun (熟字訓), from Chinese 蜻蛉 (qīnglíng)

Alternative forms

• 蜻蜓

Noun

蜻蛉(とんぼ) or 蜻蛉(トンボ) • (tonbo) 

1. dragonfly

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 トンボ.

Derived terms

• 竹(たけ)蜻(とん)蛉(ぼ) (take tonbo): a bamboo dragonfly/bamboo-copter; a toy.
• 黄(き)蜻(とん)蛉(ぼ) (ki tonbo): a yellow darter (Sympetrum croceolum)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

/toubau/ → /toːbɔː/ → /toɴbɔː/ → /toɴboː/

Shift from earlier tōbō. Appears in the 康頼本草 (Yasuyori Honzō) of 995 CE.

Noun

蜻蛉(とんぼう) or 蜻蛉(トンボー) • (tonbō) ^{←とんばう (tonbau)?}

1. dragonfly

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

/toubau/ → /toːbɔː/ → /toːboː/

Derivation unknown. Some theories include:

• Originally a compound of 飛ぶ (tobu, “to fly; flying”) + 棒 (bō, “stick, pole”, ancient reading bau). However, this combines a native Japanese etymon with a Chinese borrowing, and the term appears early in the historical record, when such compounds were not common.
• Originally a compound of 飛ぶ (tobu, “to fly; flying”) + 羽 (ha, “wing”, ancient reading pa) + uncertain element う (u). While more likely in terms of historical trends, this leaves the final element unexplained.

This reading appears to have been superseded by tonbō and tonbo.

Noun

蜻蛉(とうぼう) or 蜻蛉(トウボウ) • (tōbō) ^{←とうばう (toubau)?}

1. (archaic, possibly obsolete) dragonfly

Further reading

• Entry at Nihon Jiten (in Japanese)
• Entry at Gogen-Allguide (in Japanese)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

蜻蛉(あきず) or 蜻蛉(アキズ) • (akizu) ^{←あきづ (akidu)?}

1. (archaic) Alternative spelling of 秋津: dragonfly

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

蜻蛉(あきつ) or 蜻蛉(アキツ) • (akitsu) 

1. (archaic, since the Heian period) Alternative spelling of 秋津: dragonfly

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

蜻蛉(えんば) or 蜻蛉(エンバ) • (enba) ^{←ゑんば (wenba)?}

1. (archaic) dragonfly

Etymology 7

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
せい Hyōgaiji	れい Hyōgaiji
on'yomi

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

蜻(せい)蛉(れい) or 蜻蛉(セイレイ) • (seirei) 

1. dragonfly

Etymology 8

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

Change in meaning from 陽炎 (kagerō, “heat haze, heat shimmer”), from the way that the insects fly in swarms that visually resemble heat haze.

Noun

蜻蛉(かげろう) or 蜻蛉(カゲロウ) • (kagerō) ^{←かげろふ (kagerofu)?}

1. Obsolete spelling of 蜉蝣.: dragonfly

Etymology 9

Kanji in this term
蜻	蛉
Hyōgaiji	Hyōgaiji
irregular

Change in meaning from 陽炎 (kagirō, “heat haze, heat shimmer”), from the way that the insects fly in swarms that visually resemble heat haze.

Noun

蜻蛉(かぎろう) or 蜻蛉(カギロウ) • (kagirō) ^{←かぎろふ (kagirofu)?}

1. Obsolete spelling of 蜉蝣.: dragonfly