螟蛉

Chinese

Heliothus armigera
trad. (螟蛉)
simp. #(螟蛉)

Etymology

There was a long-held (but incorrect) belief by the Chinese that moth larvae are carried by wasps (蜾蠃) (which are unable to reproduce themselves) to their hives, kept there and raised as if they are the wasps' own offspring.

This has turned out to be a false impression, as the caterpillars are actually taken by the wasps as food for their larvae, but the metaphor of a moth larva or caterpillar for an adopted child has remained.

Pronunciation



Rime
Character
Reading # 1/1 1/1
Initial () (4) (37)
Final () (125) (125)
Tone (調) Level (Ø) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open Open
Division () IV IV
Fanqie
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/meŋ/ /leŋ/
Pan
Wuyun
/meŋ/ /leŋ/
Shao
Rongfen
/mɛŋ/ /lɛŋ/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/mɛjŋ/ /lɛjŋ/
Li
Rong
/meŋ/ /leŋ/
Wang
Li
/mieŋ/ /lieŋ/
Bernard
Karlgren
/mieŋ/ /lieŋ/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
míng líng
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character
Reading # 1/1 1/1
No. 9201 8291
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
0 0
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*meːŋ/ /*reːŋ/

Noun

螟蛉

  1. green rice caterpillar (Naranga aenescens); (in general) caterpillar of many Lepidoptera species, such as the corn earworm or the small white butterfly (which destroy rice and other plants)
  2. (literary, figuratively) Short for 螟蛉子 (mínglíngzǐ, “adopted son”).

Derived terms


Japanese

Kanji in this term
めい
Hyōgaiji
れい
Hyōgaiji
kan’on

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 螟蛉 (MC meŋ leŋ).

Pronunciation

Noun

螟蛉 (hiragana めいれい, rōmaji meirei)

  1. Synonym of 青虫 (aomushi): any butterfly or moth larvae that are colored green
  2. (figuratively) Synonym of 養子 (yōshi): an adopted child

References

  1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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