蓬萊
Chinese[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
phonetic | |||
---|---|---|---|
trad. (蓬萊) | 蓬 | 萊 | |
simp. (蓬莱) | 蓬 | 莱 |
Uncertain.
It bears striking resemblance to a Southeast Asian word for “sea”. Compare Burmese ပင်လယ် (panglai, “sea; ocean”), Shan ပၢင်ႇလၢႆႇ (pàang làai, “sea; ocean”), Jingpho pang lai (“sea”), S'gaw Karen ပီၣ်လဲၣ် (paẁ leh̀, “sea”). These seem to be borrowings, possibly from a Mon-Khmer language; compare Proto-Mon-Khmer *d[n]liʔ (“sea”), whence Old Khmer danle, danley (“large river; lake; sea”) > Khmer ទន្លេ (tŭənlei, “river”), Thai ทะเล (tá-lee, “sea”) (Schuessler, 2007).
Alternatively, it may be a transcription of an earlier Austroasiatic name; cf. 萊國/莱国 (Láiguó, “Lai”), an ancient Dongyi tribe, where 萊/莱 (lái) has been argued to transcribe a native word for "mountain" or "wilderness". The latter interpretation was mentioned in the Classical Chinese text Yue Jue Shu (越絕書 [Eastern Han]) and discussed by Zhengzhang (1999).
Proper noun[edit]
蓬萊
- (Chinese mythology) Penglai (a mythical eastern isle of immortals)
- (by extension) fairyland
- (~區, formerly ~縣, ~市) Penglai (a district, former county, and former county-level city in Yantai, Shandong, China)
Synonyms[edit]
- (mythical island):
- (district):
- (historical) 登州 (Dēngzhōu)
Derived terms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
(grass); disheveled | Chenopodium album | ||
---|---|---|---|
trad. (蓬萊) | 蓬 | 萊 | |
simp. (蓬莱) | 蓬 | 莱 |
Noun[edit]
蓬萊
- Middle Chinese lemmas
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- zh:Chinese mythology
- zh:Neighborhoods in Shandong
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