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えた. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
えた, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
えた in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
えた you have here. The definition of the word
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えた, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Japanese
Etymology 1
Probably derived originally as a compound of 餌 (e, “animal feed”) + 取り (tori, “taking”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 取る toru, “to take”).
The kanji form 穢多 first appeared in 1296 in the folded book 天狗草紙 (Tengu Sōshi). The word itself appears as the earlier form etori in 935 in the 和名類聚抄 (Wamyō Ruijushō), with this and later sources indicating that the word originally meant the job or profession of preparing food for hawks and falcons. Over time, this came to mean anyone dealing with butchery, which itself was viewed as an unclean profession, and by extension then the untouchables of Japanese society.
As alternate theories, eta may have developed out of association with the word 蝦夷 (ezo, “the Ezo or Ainu ethnic group”), or from the word 穢手 (ete, “cleaner, janitor”).
Pronunciation
Noun
えた • (eta)
- 穢多: (historical, offensive) the lowest group in Japan’s caste system during the Edo period
Synonyms
Etymology 2
The perfective form or past tense of various verbs.
Verb
えた • (eta)
- past tense of える (eru)
References
- Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN