ずぼん

Japanese

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeia. The zu portion indicates something rubbing or sliding (compare verb 擦る suru, “to rub or slide”), and the bon portion indicates something bumping to a stop or softly popping into or out of place.

This term appears in print in 1860,[1] raising the possibility that the onomatopoeia sense arose from the borrowed noun ズボン (“trousers”) and the action of putting on a pair of trousers. The initial zu portion does not historically refer to rubbing or sliding, but instead more commonly carries negative connotations of abnormal or sloppy. Alternatively, this is a colloquial term, and it may have been a dialect term, and thus it might be older than its history in print.

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) ずぼん [zùbóń] (Heiban – [0])
  • IPA(key): [d͡zɨᵝbõ̞ɴ]

Adverb

ずぼん (rōmaji zubon)

  1. (onomatopoeia) imitative of the sound of something rubbing or sliding and then bumping into place or coming out of place
    • 1860, 七偏人 (Shichi Henjin, “Seven Eccentrics”), volume 4:[2]
      丸 (まる)くずぼんと穴 (あな)の明 (あ)いた古犢鼻褌 (ふるふんどし)を…
      maruku zubon to ana no aita furu fundoshi o…
      [taking] the old loincloth with a round hole just plop hanging open...
Usage notes

Takes the particle と (to), as in the quoted example above.

Etymology 2

Alternative form of ズボン (zubon, “trousers”). See that entry for more detail.

Pronunciation

Noun

ずぼん (katakana ズボン, rōmaji zubon)

  1. ズボン: trousers (UK), pants (AUS, Canada, US), strides (AUS)
    Generally refers specifically to mens' trousers.

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 1857-1863, seven volumes published one a year, 妙竹林話 七偏人 (Myō Takebayashi-banashi: Shichi Henjin, “Strange Tales from the Bamboo Forest: Seven Eccentrics”) (in Japanese), by 梅亭 金鵞 (Baitei Kinga); re-published in 1983, Tōkyō: Kodansha, →ISBN
  3. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
  4. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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