あばく

Recorded since at least the early 1100s CE.^[1] Likely cognate with adjective 荒ら (abara, “with large gaps, wide open; wild, ruined”), verb 暴れる (abareru, “to be disorderly, to be wild, to be violent”). Possibly also cognate with adjective 淡い (awai, “faint, slight (as of a color or emotion); inconsistent, disjointed, flippant, frivolous (as of thought or behavior)”).

• (Tokyo) あばく (Nakadaka – )^[2][3][4]
• IPA^(key):

あばく • (abaku) transitive godan (stem あばき (abaki), past あばいた (abaita))

1. 暴く, 発く: to dig something up or out, to excavate or exhume something

   Synonym: 発掘する (hakkutsu suru)

2. 暴く, 発く: to open something previously closed, to unrestrict something, to cut something loose or free
3. 暴く, 発く: to disclose (a secret), to expose (a crime), to lay bare, to divulge
   • Tanaka Corpus

     彼(かれ)らの秘(ひ)密(みつ)が全(ぜん)部(ぶ)暴(あば)かれた。

     Karera no himitsu ga zenbu abakareta.

     All their secrets have been revealed.

   Synonyms: (more colloquial) ばらす (barasu), (more formal) 暴露する (bakuro suru)

• あばら (abara, “loosely spaced, sparse, with large gaps; wide open; wild, ruined”)
• 暴(あば)れる (abareru, “to be violent, to be wild”)

Unclear. May derive from the 四段活用 (yodan katsuyō, “quadrigrade conjugation”) form of abaku above, possibly as a sense development. Compare the English expressions cut loose, let loose → let go in the sense of let oneself go → become unkempt, to go to ruin.

• (Tokyo) あばく (Nakadaka – )^[5]
• IPA^(key):

あばく • (abaku) intransitive ^†nidan

1. 褫く: (obsolete) to become sparse, to grow wild, to fall apart, to fall into ruin

   Synonyms: 剥げる (hageru), 崩れ落ちる (kuzureochiru), 崩壊する (hōkai suru)

2. 褫く: (obsolete) to be careless

   Synonym: 油断する (yudan suru)

Superseded in modern Japanese by the form あばける (abakeru), as the expected regular development of the earlier 下二段 (shimo nidan, “lower bigrade”) form. The sense also appears to have shifted somewhat, with a modern emphasis on to be careless; to mess around in Gunma prefecture, and to be wild, to be unrestrained in Yamanashi prefecture.

Usage might be restricted to regional dialects. This term does not appear in various dictionaries that focus on standard Japanese.^[1][2][4][6]

• あばけ者(もの) (abakemono): a rash or careless person; a waggish or jocular person, someone who enjoys messing around

• A list of terms in the dialect of Agatsuma County, Gunma prefecture: http://www.kirara.ne.jp/kaiwa/a-o.html
• A list of terms in the 甲州 (Kōshū) regional dialect of Yamanashi prefecture: https://web.archive.org/web/20181105162856/http://www.geocities.co.jp/gakubow_1/jitenac.html
• The entries for both dialects, as listed at Weblio: https://www.weblio.jp/content/あばける

Unknown. Listed in the Nippo Jisho of 1603.^[1][7]

May be related to the above forms of abaku from the general sense of unrestrainedness.

• IPA^(key):

• Pitch accent uncertain.

あばく • (abaku) intransitive ^†yodan

1. (rare, apparently colloquial, possibly obsolete, mainly in the negative) to fit into a space

   Synonym: 収まる (osamaru)

   Cono ninjuga cono zaxiqini abacanu.

   Esta gente não cabe neste Zaxiqi.^[7]
   This many people won't fit in these seats.

2. (rare, apparently colloquial, possibly obsolete, mainly in the positive) to overflow, to overabound, to be too much

   Synonyms: 溢れる (afureru), 余る (amaru)

Seems to have fallen out of use; not included in many dictionaries.^[2][4][6] No kanji spelling is used in available historical materials.^[1]

The two senses provided by the Nippo Jisho have almost opposite meanings, which may suggest a mistake.