灯台草

Japanese

Kanji in this term
灯	台	草
とう Grade: 4	だい Grade: 2	くさ > ぐさ Grade: 1
on'yomi		kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
燈臺草 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Literally, “light house grass”, 灯台(とうだい) (tōdai, “light house, light pole”) + 草(くさ) (kusa, “grass, plant”). The kusa changes to gusa as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [to̞ːda̠iɡɯ̟sa̠]

Noun

灯(とう)台(だい)草(ぐさ) or 灯台草(トウダイグサ) • (tōdaigusa) 

1. sun spurge, Euphorbia helioscopia
2. spurge (any plant of the genus Euphorbia)

Usage notes

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