芳しい

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Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
かんば
Grade: S
kun’yomi
Alternative spellings
香しい
馨しい

⟨kaɡupasi⟩/kaɱʉpaɕi//kambaɕi//kambaɕiki//kambaɕi.i/

Shift from kaguwashii below, classical 芳し (kaguwashi).

Pronunciation

Adjective

(かんば)しい (kanbashii-i (adverbial (かんば)しく (kanbashiku))

  1. sweet-smelling, fragrant
  2. desirable, favorable, good
Inflection

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
かぐわ
Grade: S
kun’yomi
Alternative spellings
香しい
馨しい

⟨kaɡupasi⟩⟨kaɡupasiki1 → */kaɡupasikʲi//kaɡuɸaɕiki//kaɡuwaɕi.i/

From 芳しき (kagupasiki1), the 連体形 (rentaikei, attributive form) of Old Japanese adjective 芳し (kagupasi). In turn, from (ka, fragrance) +‎ くわし (-kuwashi, fine, elegant, beautiful, used as a suffixing element). The kuwashi changes to guwashi as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Attested in the Kojiki of 712, with the phonetic man'yōgana spelling of 迦具波斯 (kagupasi).

Pronunciation

Adjective

(かぐわ)しい (kaguwashiiかぐはしい (kagufasii)?-i (adverbial (かぐわ)しく (kaguwashiku))

  1. (archaic) sweet-smelling, fragrant
  2. (archaic) desirable, favorable, good
Inflection
Derived terms

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 芳・香・馨”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Nihon Kokugo Daijiten) (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000