銀杏

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See also: 银杏

Chinese

silver; money apricot
trad. (銀杏)
simp. (银杏)
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Pronunciation


Noun

銀杏

  1. (~樹) ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba, tree)
  2. ginkgo nut

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Hawaiian: nanahana (via Cantonese ngan⁴ hang⁶)
Sino-Xenic (銀杏):

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
いちょう
Grade: 3 Jinmeiyō
irregular
Alternative spellings
公孫樹
鴨脚樹
 イチョウ on Japanese Wikipedia
 Ginkgo biloba on Wikipedia

/it͡ɕijau//it͡ɕjɔː//it͡ɕoː/

Borrowing from Chinese 鴨腳鸭脚 (yājiǎo, ginkgo) around the Muromachi period.

There is an Edo-period folk etymology that the original derivation was 一葉 (ichiyō, literally a single leaf), but from the historical kana usage, 一葉 would be read as いちえふ (ichi-efu)いてふ (itefu), instead of いちやう (i-chau).

The kanji spelling is jukujikun (熟字訓).

Pronunciation

Noun

銀杏(いちょう) or 銀杏(イチョウ) (ichōいちやう (ityau) or イチヤウ (ityau)?

  1. ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba)
  2. an arrowhead in the shape of a ginkgo leaf
  3. Short for 銀杏頭 (ichō-gashira): an Edo-period hairstyle, with the topknot in the shape of a ginkgo leaf, today usually associated with higher-ranked sumo wrestlers
  4. a 家紋 (kamon, family crest) with a motif of various styles of gingko leaves
Usage notes
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
ぎん
Grade: 3
あん > なん
Jinmeiyō
kan'on tōon

Attested around the mid-12th century.

Borrowing from Middle Chinese 銀杏 (MC ngin haengX), utilizing the 唐音 (tō'on, Tang sound) of (an), as in 杏子 (anzu, apricot).

The an changes to nan as an instance of renjō (連声).

Pronunciation

Noun

(ぎん)(なん) (ginnan

  1. Ginkgo biloba
    1. a ginkgo tree
    2. a ginkgo nut or seed
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
ぎん
Grade: 3
きょう
Jinmeiyō
kan'on kan'yōon

Borrowing from Middle Chinese 銀杏 (MC ngin haengX), utilizing the 慣用音 (kan'yō-on, Customary sound) of (kyō), as in 杏仁 (kyōnin, apricot seed).

Pronunciation

Noun

(ぎん)(きょう) (ginkyōぎんきやう (ginkyau)?

  1. Ginkgo biloba
Descendants

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN