馬酔木

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
Grade: 2 Grade: S Grade: 1
jukujikun

The original kun'yomi pronunciation of this word was ashibi, now considered a variant reading.

The leaves of the plant were known to intoxicate horses when eaten, causing horses to stumble and become weak in the legs. As such, this word is most likely a contraction of (ashijihi, numbness in the feet/legs).

The kanji 馬酔木 are an example of jukujikun, meaning literally horse intoxicating tree.

Pronunciation

  • (Irregular reading)
    • (Tokyo) せび [àsébí] (Heiban – [0])[1]
    • IPA(key): [a̠se̞bʲi]

Noun

馬酔木 (hiragana あしび, rōmaji ashibi) (variant)

馬酔木 (hiragana あしみ, rōmaji ashimi) (variant)

馬酔木 (hiragana あせみ, rōmaji asemi) (variant)

馬酔木 (hiragana あせも, rōmaji asemo) (variant)

馬酔木 (hiragana あせぼ, rōmaji asebo) (variant)

馬酔木 (hiragana あせぶ, rōmaji asebu) (variant)

馬酔木 (hiragana あせび, katakana アセビ, rōmaji asebi) (standard)

  1. Pieris japonica: Japanese andromeda, a flowering shrub native to Japan

See also

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term

Grade: 2
すい
Grade: S
ぼく
Grade: 1
on’yomi

The on'yomi of the kanji spelling 馬酔木.

Pronunciation

Noun

馬酔木 (hiragana ばすいぼく, rōmaji basuiboku)

  1. Pieris japonica: Japanese andromeda, a flowering shrub native to Japan

References

  1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.