蠟

蠟 (Kangxi radical 142, 虫+15, 21 strokes, cangjie input 中戈女女女 (LIVVV), four-corner 5211₆, composition ⿰虫巤)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1101, character 31
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 33786
• Dae Jaweon: page 1565, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2903, character 6
• Unihan data for U+881F

• Unihan data for U+F927

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *raːb) : semantic 虫 (“insect”) + phonetic 巤 (OC *rab).

Probably from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-krjap (“bug; ant; insect (lac); cochineal”); cognate with Burmese ချိပ် (hkyip, “lac”), Proto-Loloish *C-gripᴸ (“lac; pine”), Jingpho krep (“bedbug”), Proto-Kiranti *khrep (“bug; ant”) (Schuessler, 2007; STEDT).

However, this word is not attested until the 2nd to 3rd century (Ferlus, 2012b) (earliest attested in Comments of a Recluse (潛夫論) by Wang Fu (王符)). It may instead be a borrowing from Proto-Vietic *k-raːp (“wax”) (Ferlus, 2012; Jacques, 2016b).

蠟

1. wax

   • 知脂蠟之可明燈也，而不知其甚多則冥之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     知脂蜡之可明灯也，而不知其甚多则冥之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Wang Fu, Comments of a Recluse, c. 2^nd century CE

     Zhī zhīlà zhī kě míng dēng yě, ér bùzhī qí shènduō zé míng zhī.

     know that fat and wax can brighten lamps, but know not that too much shall dim them.

2. candle (Classifier: 根 m; 枝 m)
3. light yellow

Others:

• → Mongolian: лаа (laa, “candle”), лав (lav, “wax”)
• →? Proto-Vietic: *k-raːp (“wax”)
  • Vietnamese: sáp (“wax; candle”)
• → Zhuang: lab (“candle”)

(Jinmeiyō kanji, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 蝋)

1. wax
2. candle
3. waxy
4. glazed

• Go-on: ろう (rō)^{←らふ (rafu, historical)}
• Kan-on: ろう (rō)^{←らふ (rafu, historical)}

From Middle Chinese 蠟 (MC lap).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): ~
• Phonetic hangul:

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

蠟

Wikisource

蠟 (eumhun 밀 랍 (mil rap), word-initial (South Korea) 밀 납 (mil nap))

1. hanja form^? of 랍/납 (“wax”)
2. hanja form^? of 랍/납 (“candle”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

蠟: Hán Nôm readings: rệp, lạp, sáp

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

• Thiều Chửu : Hán Việt Tự Điển Hà Nội 1942
• Trần Văn Chánh: Từ Điển Hán Việt NXB Trẻ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999
• Vũ Văn Kính: Đại Tự Điển Chữ Nôm, NXB Văn Nghệ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999