足掻き
Japanese
Alternative forms
- 足掻 (less common)
Etymology 1
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
足 | 掻 |
あ Grade: 1 |
かき > がき Hyōgaiji |
kun’yomi |
The 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 足掻く (agaku, “to paw at the ground; to struggle”), itself a compound of 足 (a, “foot”, Old Japanese form, now only found in compounds) + 掻く (kaku, “to scratch”).[1] The kaki changes to gaki as an instance of rendaku (連濁).
Pronunciation
Noun
Idioms
- 足掻きが取れない (agaki ga torenai): “to be unable to take any movement of one's limbs” → to be stuck, to not have options
- 足掻きがつかない (agaki ga tsukanai): “movement does not stick / have an effect” → to be stuck, to not have options
- 足掻きを打つ (agaki o utsu): “to hit the pawing” → 足掻く (agaku, “to paw at the ground”)
Etymology 2
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
足 | 掻 |
あし Grade: 1 |
かき > がき Hyōgaiji |
kun’yomi |
Compound of 足 (ashi, “foot”) + 掻き (kaki, “scratching”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 掻く (kaku, “to scratch”)).[1] The kaki changes to gaki as an instance of rendaku (連濁).
Noun
足掻き (hiragana あしがき, rōmaji ashigaki)
Etymology 3
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
足 | 掻 |
あし Grade: 1 |
かき Hyōgaiji |
kun’yomi |
Compound of 足 (ashi, “foot”) + 掻き (kaki, “scratching”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 掻く (kaku, “to scratch”)), possibly from the way that horses or cattle might paw at the grass when grazing. Note the lack of rendaku.
Noun
足掻き (hiragana あしかき, katakana アシカキ, rōmaji ashikaki)
- Leersia japonica, a kind of cutgrass native to Japan
Usage notes
As with many terms used in biology contexts, this term is often spelled in katakana.
Derived terms
- 台湾足掻き (Taiwan ashikaki): Leersia hexandra, southern cutgrass
References
- 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.