揺蕩う

/tajutapu/ → /tajutafu/ → /tajutau/

From Old Japanese 揺蕩ふ (tayutapu). Appears in the Man'yōshū of 759 CE.^[1][2]

Derived from the adjective たゆた (tayuta, “undecided, unsettled, uncertain in one's thoughts”) + auxiliary verb suffix ふ (fu, indicating repetition or ongoing state, spelled and pronounced as う (u) in modern Japanese).^[1]

The kanji spelling is an example of ateji (当て字), based on the synonymous Middle Chinese-derived term 揺蕩 (yōtō).

• (Tokyo) たゆたう (Nakadaka – )^[2][3]
• IPA^(key):

揺蕩(たゆた)う • (tayutau) ^{←たゆたふ (tayutafu)?}intransitive godan (stem 揺蕩(たゆた)い (tayutai), past 揺蕩(たゆた)った (tayutatta))

1. to bob, to move about uncertainly as a floating item moves about on the surface of water or some other liquid

   Synonym: 漂う (tadayou)

2. to be undecided or uncertain
3. to pause or hesitate due to indecision, to dally, to dawdle

   Synonyms: 躊躇う (tamerau), 躊躇する (chūcho suru), (archaic) 猶予う (izayou)

The alternative 猶予う spelling is uncommon.

/tajutapu/ → /tajutafu/ → /tajutau/ → /tajutɔː/ → /tajutoː/

Shift from tayutau above. Listed with a reading of tayutǒ (/tajutɔː/) in the 1603 Nippo Jisho.^[4]

• IPA^(key):

揺蕩(たゆと)う • (tayutou) ^{←たゆたふ (tayutafu)?}intransitive godan (stem 揺蕩(たゆと)い (tayutoi), past 揺蕩(たゆと)った (tayutotta))

1. Alternative form of 揺蕩う (tayutau)