わらわ

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word わらわ. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word わらわ, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say わらわ in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word わらわ you have here. The definition of the word わらわ will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofわらわ, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spellings
妾
私

From 童(わらわ) (warawa, “child; young servant”). Compare 僕(ぼく) (boku, “I; me”, literally “manservant”). Attested from Late Middle Japanese (中世, c. 12th century).

Pronunciation

Pronoun

わらわ • (warawa) ←わらは (warafa)?

  1. (archaic, women's speech, humble) I; me
  2. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) (modern fiction, women's speech) I; me (used by haughty women of the highest classes of society); usually accompanied by archaic speech styles
Usage notes

Chiefly used by women as 謙(けん)譲(じょう)語(ご) (kenjōgo), a form of honorific that presents the speaker as lower status than the addressee. Sometimes used by men, in which case it connotes great humility. In Modern Japanese the word came to be associated primarily with women from the samurai class.

Etymology 2

Alternative spelling
童

Pronunciation

Noun

わらわ • (warawa) ←わらは (warafa)?

  1. (archaic, historical) a hairstyle, with the hair not tied up but hanging loose, typically worn by children
  2. (by extension, archaic) a child older than a baby but not yet an adult
    • a. 1002, Sei Shōnagon, Makura no sōshi [The Pillow Book]:
      いと細(こま)やかなるわらはの、狩(かり)衣(ぎぬ)は掛(か)け破(や)りなどして、髪(かみ)うるはしきが
      ito komayaka naru waraha no, kariginu wa kake yarinado shite, kami uru wa shiki ga
      a skinny child in tattered hunting clothes, but with hair neatly styled
  3. (archaic) a child servant, a child who does errands; (especially) a young servant of a Buddhist temple
    Synonym: 召使い (meshitsukai)
  4. (archaic, historical) short for 五節の童女 (gosechi no warawa), a girl who dances in 五節(ごせち) (gosechi) festivals
Usage notes

After their genpuku coming-of-age ceremony, young men would be expected to wear adult hairstyles. The childish warawa loose hair worn by young boys was therefore iconic of childhood. During the Nara period, upper class youth undertook genpuku from about the age of 10.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2004, 小学館 全文全訳古語辞典 (Shōgakukan Dictionary of Archaisms with Complete Translations) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia