小夜

From Old Japanese. Compound of さ (sa-, prefix meaning "early" or "small", or meaningless) + 夜 (よ) (yo, “night”)[1]

The use of 小 in the spelling is an example of ateji (当て字). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) さ​よ [sáꜜyò] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
  • IPA^(key): [sa̠jo̞]

小夜 (hiragana さよ, rōmaji sayo)

1. dark, night, nighttime
   • 1205, Shin Kokin Wakashū (book 5 poem 483), text here (also Hyakunin Isshu, poem 94)

     み吉 (よし)野 (の)の山 (やま)の秋風 (あきかぜ)さ夜 (よ)ふけてふるさと寒 (さむ)く衣 (ころも)うつなり

     mi-Yoshino no yama no akikaze sayo fukete furusato samuku koromo utsu nari

     At Yoshino the mountain wind deepens into the night, and in the old village a fulling block is struck.[2]

   Synonym: 夜 (yoru)

小夜 (hiragana さよ, rōmaji Sayo)

1. a female given name
2. a surname​.

From 小 (こ) (ko, “small”) + 夜 (よる) (yoru, “night”).

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [ko̞jo̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ]

小夜 (hiragana こよる, rōmaji koyoru)

1. small nightwear

   Synonym: 小夜着 (koyogi)

Various nanori readings.

小夜 (hiragana さや, rōmaji Saya)

1. a female given name

• 小 (さ)夜 (や)の中山 (なかやま) (Saya-no-Nakayama)