曰く

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Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
曰
いわ
Hyōgai
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese.

The く (ku)-nominalization of the classical verb 言ふ (ifu), modern 言う (iu, “to say”).[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

曰(いわ)く • (iwaku) ←いはく (ifaku)?

  1. (used adverbially) what a person or source says; according to
    カール・マルクス曰(いわ)く「あらゆる社(しゃ)会(かい)の歴(れき)史(し)は階(かい)級(きゅう)闘(とう)争(そう)の歴(れき)史(し)である」だそうです。
    Kāru Marukusu iwaku “Arayuru shakai no rekishi wa kaikyū tōsō no rekishi de aru” da sō desu.
    Karl Marx says that "The history of society is the history of class struggles."
  2. a reason, story
    • 1955 May, Ango Sakaguchi, Murder Case of the Baseball Pitcher(投手殺人事件):
      曰(いわ)くありですな。
      Iwaku ari desu na.
      There's a story behind it for sure.
Usage notes

Do not confuse the kanji 曰 (“say”) with 日 (“sun; day”).

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
曰
のたまわ
Hyōgai
kun'yomi
Alternative spellings
宣わく
曰わく

The く (ku)-nominalization of the classical verb 宣ふ (notamafu → notamau, “to say”, archaic),[1][2][3] from 宣(の)り給(たま)う (noritamau),[1][2][3] compound of 宣(の)り (nori, “連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 宣(の)る (noru, “to say, declare”)”) + たまう (tamau, an honorific).

Pronunciation

Noun

曰(のたまわ)く • (notamawaku) ←のたまはく (notamafaku)?

  1. (honorific, used adverbially) ...says
    • 1596, Contemptus mundi[4]
      Von arujino notamauaqu: qui seqitur me, non ambulat in tenebris, sed babebit lumen vitæ. Ioan. 8. Vareuo xitǒ monoua yamigiuo yucazu: tada jumiǒ no ficariuo motçu bexi to nari.
      The Lord says: Qui seqitur me, non ambulat in tenebris, sed babebit lumen vitæ. (John 8) ‘Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  4. ^ Bjarke Frellesvig (2010) A History of the Japanese Language, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 300

Old Japanese

Etymology

The く (ku)-nominalization of verb 言ふ (ipu, “to say”).[1]

Noun

曰く (ipaku) (kana いはく)

  1. (used adverbially) what a person or source says
    • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 4, poem 619:
      ...幼婦常 言雲知久 手小童之 哭耳泣管 俳徊 君之使乎 待八兼手六
      ...tawayame1 to2 ipaku mo siruku tawarapa no2 ne no2mi2 naki1tutu tamoto2pori ki1mi1 ga tukapi1 wo mati ya kanetemu
      ...as the type of (weak) woman spoken of as a tawayame (手弱女), I cry all the time like a child, wandering around and waiting for an envoy with a message from you.

Descendants

  • Japanese: 曰く (iwaku)

References

  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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