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狐火. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
狐火, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
狐火 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Japanese
Etymology
Compound of 狐 (kitsune, “fox”) + 火 (hi, “fire”).[1][2] The hi changes to bi as an instance of rendaku (連濁).
First cited to a text from 1488.[1]
Pronunciation
Noun
狐火 • (kitsunebi)
- a mysterious pale fire often seen in the fields and mountains at night from winter to early spring: will o' the wisp, foxfire
- Synonyms: 燐火 (rinka), 鬼火 (onibi), 狐の提灯 (kitsune no chōchin)
1488, Sanjōnishi Sanetaka (三条西実隆), 実隆公記 [Sanetakakōki]:
- 夜前於㆓野路㆒有㆓狐火㆒
- yazen noji ni oite kitsunebi ari
- will o' the wisps appeared in the field path last night
-
- 狐火や髑髏に雨のたまる夜に
- kitsunebi ya dokuro ni ame no tamaru yo ni
- There's foxfire on nights when the rain collects in the skull.
- kabuki props designed to imitate will o' the wisps
- Synonyms: 焼酎火 (shōchūbi), 樟脳火 (shōnōbi)
- Synonym of 野鶏頭 (nogeitō /ノゲイトウ/, “plumed or silver cockscomb (Celosia argentea)”)
- Synonym of 埃茸 (hokoritake /ホコリタケ/, “puffball (Lycoperdon perlatum)”)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN