天鵞絨

See also: 天鵝絨

Japanese

Etymology 1
Kanji in this term
天 鵞 絨
てん
Grade: 1		 が
Hyōgaiji		 じゅう
Hyōgaiji
on’yomi

The 1734 work 本朝世事綺談 (Honchō Seji Kidan, “Embellished Tales of Everyday Japan”; also listed as 本朝世事談綺, with the last two characters swapped) describes this kanji spelling as arising from how velvet shines and shimmers in a way reminiscent of a swan's plumage: 天鵞 (tenga, “swan”, obsolete) + 絨 (jū, “thick fabric”).

Pronunciation

Noun

天鵞絨 (hiragana てんがじゅう, rōmaji tengajū)

  1. (rare, archaic) velvet
Usage notes

The kanji spelling and on'yomi of tengajū are not used much in modern Japanese, and have been superseded by the borrowed term ビロード.

Etymology 2
Kanji in this term
天 鵞 絨
Grade: 1 Hyōgaiji Hyōgaiji
Irregular

From Portuguese veludo (“velvet”)[2][1]. The term was borrowed when Portuguese traders and missionaries first introduced velvet to Japan in the 1500s.

Pronunciation
  • (Irregular reading)

Alternative forms

Noun

天鵞絨 (katakana ビロード, rōmaji birōdo)

  1. Alternative spelling of ビロード: velvet
Usage notes

The katakana spelling ビロード is more common for this term.

References
  1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  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
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