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西瓜

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Chinese

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west
melon; claw; gourd
melon; claw; gourd; squash
 
trad. (西瓜) 西
simp. #(西瓜) 西
Literally: “western melon”.
Wikipedia has articles on:

Etymology

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So named after the melon species grown in western China. Replaced the previous etymon 菜瓜. The Xianbeiji (陷北記) (~950) records that the Khitans obtained it after defeating the Uyghurs:

契丹回紇牛糞中國東瓜 [MSC, trad.]
契丹回纥牛粪中国东瓜 [MSC, simp.]
From: 陷北記
Yún Qìdān pò Huíhé, dé cǐ zhǒng, yǐ niúfèn fù péng ér zhǒng, dà rú Zhōngguó dōngguā ér wèi gān. [Pinyin]
The Khitans obtained these species (of watermelon) after defeating the Uyghurs. They cultivated it by covering it up with cow dung. It is as large as an eastern chinese watermelon and is sweet in taste.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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西瓜

西瓜
  1. watermelon (Classifier: m c;  c)

Synonyms

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  • 寒瓜 (hánguā) (archaic, used during Yuan and Ming times)

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Sino-Xenic (西瓜):
  • Japanese: 西瓜(すいか) (suika)
  • Korean: 서과(西瓜) (seogwa)

Others:

References

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  • 李如龙 [Li, Ru-long]; 刘福铸 [Liu, Fu-zhu]; 吴华英 [Wu, Hua-ying]; 黄国城 [Huang, Guo-cheng] (2019), “412 西瓜”, in 莆仙方言调查报告 [Investigation Report on Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 331.

Japanese

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Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja
Kanji in this term
西
すい
Grade: 2

Jinmeiyō
tōon kan'on
Alternative spelling
水瓜

Etymology

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From Middle Chinese 西瓜 (MC sej kwae, literally “west melon”). Compare modern Mandarin 西瓜 (xīguā, watermelon). Sui is the 唐音 (tōon) of 西.[1][2][3][4] There is an alternative spelling 水瓜,[1][3][2][4][5] which may be seen as both ateji and a calque of English watermelon.

Various Japanese references indicate that the fruit was imported from China in the early Edo period in the 1600s.[1][3][2] However, the word is first attested in Japanese in a text from the 1360s, suggesting that the fruit was originally imported earlier, but did not become more widely known until the 1600s.[4]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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西(すい)() or 西瓜(スイカ) (suikaすいくわ (suikwa)?

  1. watermelon

Usage notes

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

Derived terms

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Descendants

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References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 西瓜”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎[1] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 西瓜・水瓜”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[2] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  5. 5.0 5.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  6. ^ 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

Korean

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Hanja in this term
西

Noun

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西瓜 (seogwa) (hangeul 서과)

  1. hanja form? of 서과 (watermelon)

Okinawan

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Kanji in this term
西
しー
Grade: 2
くゎ
Jinmeiyō
on'yomi

Pronunciation

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Noun

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西(しー)(くゎ) or 西瓜(シークヮ) (shīkwa

  1. watermelon
    Synonym: 広東瓜 (kwantuui)

References

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  • シークヮ” in Okinawa Center of Language Study, Shuri-Naha Dialect Dictionary (archived; reopens 2024).