猶予う

Read as いさよう (isayou) in the Nara Period, alternating with いざよう (izayou) in the Heian Period, and settling on いざよう (izayou) thereafter.

Derived as a compound from いさ (isa, “interjection of hesitation or introduction; compare to English so, which may be used as a hesitation word or to introduce a new topic”) + suffix element よふ.

The origin of the latter portion remains unclear. May be よ (yo, “particle indicating origin or means”) + ふ (fu, “auxiliary verb indicating repetition or ongoing state, spelled and pronounced as う, u in modern Japanese”). Alternately, may be 酔う (you, “to be intoxicated or unsteady; formerly spelled ゑふ, wefu in hiragana”).

The kanji are examples of ateji.

猶予う (intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana いざよう, rōmaji izayou, historical hiragana いざよふ)

1. To pause, to hesitate.

• 誘 (いさよ)う (isayou): to tempt, to invite: also derived from interjection いさ (isa).

Derived from the noun たゆた (tayuta, “undecidedness, unsettledness”) + auxiliary verb ふ (fu, “indicating repetition or ongoing state, spelled and pronounced as う, u in modern Japanese”).

The kanji are examples of ateji.

猶予う (intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana たゆたう, rōmaji tayutau, historical hiragana たゆたふ)

1. To bob, to move about uncertainly as a floating item moves about on the surface of water or some other liquid.
2. To be undecided or uncertain.
3. To pause or hesitate due to indecision; to dally, to dawdle.

This reading is more commonly spelled 揺蕩う.

• (floating): 漂 (ただよ)う (tadayou)
• (hesitate): 躊 (ちゅう)躇 (ちょ)する (chūcho suru), 躊躇 (ためら)う (tamerau)