蟷螂
Japanese
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
蟷 | 螂 |
かまきり | |
Hyōgai | Hyōgai |
jukujikun |
Alternative spellings |
---|
螳螂 (mantis) 鎌切 (mantis) 鎌切 (zoology) 杜父魚 (zoology) |
Either a compound of 鎌 (kama, “sickle”) + 切り (kiri, “cutting; cutter”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 切る (kiru, “to cut”)), or of 鎌 (kama, “sickle”) + キリ (kiri, onomatopoeia), where the kiri is imitative of the sound made by grasshoppers and katydids, and is found as a common element in the names of several insects of similar size and body shape. Compare 螽斯 (kirigirisu, “grasshopper; katydid”), 笹切 (sasakiri, “bush cricket; katydid”).
Considering the sharp forelegs of the mantis, the first derivation may be more probable.
The kanji are jukujikun (熟字訓), from Chinese 蟷螂/𬠅螂.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]- a mantis (any of various large insects of the order Mantodea)
- (by extension, from the slender build of the insect) a skinny person or horse
- (rare) a fourspine sculpin, a fish of species Cottus kazika
- Synonym: 鮎掛 (ayukake)
Usage notes
[edit]As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as カマキリ.
For the fourspine sculpin sense, the more common kanji spellings are 鎌切 and 杜父魚.[1][4]
Etymology 2
[edit]
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
蟷 | 螂 |
とう Hyōgai |
ろう Hyōgai |
goon |
Alternative spelling |
---|
螳螂 |
From Middle Chinese 螳螂 (MC dang ljang|lang).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]- a mantis
Derived terms
[edit]- 蟷螂の斧 (tōrō no ono): “the mantis's hatchets” → a metaphor for a futile endeavor; compare English piss in the wind, kick against the pricks, quixotic
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 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
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- Japanese terms spelled with 蟷
- Japanese terms spelled with 螂
- Japanese terms read with jukujikun
- Japanese compound terms
- Japanese terms spelled with jukujikun
- Japanese terms derived from Chinese
- Japanese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Japanese lemmas
- Japanese nouns
- Japanese terms with multiple readings
- Japanese terms spelled with hyōgai kanji
- Japanese terms with 2 kanji
- Japanese terms with rare senses
- Japanese terms spelled with 蟷 read as とう
- Japanese terms spelled with 螂 read as ろう
- Japanese terms read with goon
- Japanese terms derived from Middle Chinese
- Japanese words with multiple readings
- ja:Insects
- ja:Fish