기린

Korean

A giraffe brought from Somalia in the 1414.

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 麒麟. The archaic sense of legendary animal is attested in the two-millenia old Confucianist Classic of Rites that reads bonghwang-girin (鳳凰麒麟). Since Admiral Zheng He took the giraffe from Somalia to China in 1414, this Hanja word was equated with Somali geri or the like meaning "giraffe" then (See Citations:기린), which on the other hand may have influenced the etymology of Italian giraffa (since Medici giraffe in 1486) and its European derivatives via Arabic زَرَافَة (zarāfa).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [kiɾin]
• Phonetic hangul: [기린]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	girin
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	gilin
McCune–Reischauer?	kirin
Yale Romanization?	kilin

Noun

기린 • (girin) (counter 마리, hanja 麒麟)

1. a giraffe (mammal)

1. (Chinese mythology) a qilin

Synonyms

• 지라프 (jirapeu) (rarely used)

Derived terms

• 기린아 (麒麟兒, girina)
• 기린영양 (麒麟羚羊, girinyeong'yang, “gerenuk”)

See also

• 기린 (驥驎, girin, “horse par excellence”)
• 길이 (giri, “length”)
• 기르다 (gireuda, “to grow”)
• 봉황 (鳳凰, bonghwang, “fabulous male and female birds”)