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乙女. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
乙女, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
乙女 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
乙女 you have here. The definition of the word
乙女 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
乙女, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Chinese
Etymology
Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 乙女 (otome).
Pronunciation
Noun
乙女
- (neologism, slang, ACG) maiden; virgin; pure girl
Derived terms
Japanese
Etymology
⟨woto2me1⟩ → /wotome/ → /otome/
From Old Japanese. Found in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE.
Compound of おと (oto, cognate with Old Japanese verb 復つ otsu, “to become young”) + 女 (me, “girl, female”).[1][2] Contrasts with 男 (otoko, “man”, original meaning of “boy”).[1][2] See also 娘 (musume, “daughter”), 姫 (hime, “princess”).
Pronunciation
Noun
乙女 • (otome) ←をとめ (wotome)?
- daughter
- virgin, maiden
- little girl, young lady
- 命短し、恋せよ乙女
- inochi mijikashi, koiseyo otome
- Life is short; fall in love, young woman.
Derived terms
References