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蟷螂(mantis sense) 鎌切(mantis and fish senses) 杜父魚(fish sense)
Either a compound of 鎌(kama, “sickle”) + 切り(kiri, “cutting; cutter”, the 連用形(ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 切る(kiru, “to cut”)), or of 鎌(kama, “sickle”) + キリ(kiri, onomatopoeia), where the kiri is imitative of the sound made by grasshoppers and katydids, and is found as a common element in the names of several insects of similar size and body shape. Compare 螽斯(kirigirisu, “grasshopper; katydid”), 笹切(sasakiri, “bush cricket; katydid”).
Considering the sharp forelegs of the mantis, the first derivation may be more probable.
As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as カマキリ.
For the fourspine sculpin sense, the more common kanji spellings are 鎌切 and 杜父魚.[4][1]
蟷螂が斧を取りて隆車に向かう(tōrō ga ono o torite ryūsha ni mukau): “the mantis takes its hatchets and faces off against a grand chariot” → a metaphor for a futile endeavor; compare Englishpiss in the wind, quixotic
蟷螂が斧をもって隆車に向かう(tōrō ga ono o motte ryūsha ni mukau): “the mantis takes its hatchets and faces off against a grand chariot” → a metaphor for a futile endeavor; compare Englishpiss in the wind, quixotic