膃肭臍

See also: 腽肭脐

Chinese

fur seal; blubber of the fur seal navel
trad. (膃肭臍) 膃肭
simp. (腽肭脐) 腽肭

Pronunciation



Rime
Character
Reading # 1/1 1/3 1/1
Initial () (34) (12) (15)
Final () (56) (4) (39)
Tone (調) Checked (Ø) Checked (Ø) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Closed Open Open
Division () I III IV
Fanqie
Baxter 'wot nrjuwk dzej
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/ʔuət̚/ /ɳɨuk̚/ /d͡zei/
Pan
Wuyun
/ʔuot̚/ /ɳiuk̚/ /d͡zei/
Shao
Rongfen
/ʔuət̚/ /niuk̚/ /d͡zɛi/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/ʔwət̚/ /ɳuwk̚/ /d͡zɛj/
Li
Rong
/ʔuət̚/ /niuk̚/ /d͡zei/
Wang
Li
/uət̚/ /nĭuk̚/ /d͡ziei/
Bernhard
Karlgren
/ʔuət̚/ /ni̯uk̚/ /d͡zʱiei/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
wu
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
wat1 nuk6 cai4

Noun

膃肭臍

  1. (traditional Chinese medicine) penis and testes of the fur seal

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (膃肭臍):
  • Japanese: 膃肭臍(おっとせい) (ottosei)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
おつ > おっ
Hyōgai
(ateji)
どつ > と
Hyōgai
(ateji)
せい
Hyōgai
kan'on

Etymology

/wotːosːsei//otːoseː/

Appears to be originally from Ainu オンネㇷ゚ (onnep, fur seal). This was borrowed first into Chinese as 膃肭 / 腽肭 (wànà), possibly via one of the Min languages: compare modern Southern Min pronunciation nab4 for the () character. Traditional Chinese medicine made use of the (penis, male genitals) of the animal, called in Chinese the 膃肭臍 / 腽肭脐 (wànàqí). This combined word was then borrowed into Japanese in reference to both the Chinese-medicine ingredient and the animal,[1][2][3][4][5][6] with first attestation in 1638.[1]

Encountered in early historical sources with the kana readings をっとっせい (wottossei) and をっとっさい (wottossai).[1] It is not currently clear from available references when the reading became the modern おっとせい (ottosei), losing both the initial /w/ and the medial gemination.

Pronunciation

Noun

(おっ)()(せい) • (ottoseiをつとつせい (wotutotusei)?

  1. [from 1638] a fur seal; more specifically, the northern fur seal, Callorhinus ursinus
    Synonyms: ウニウ (uniu, rare, borrowing from Ainu), ウネウ (uneu, rare, borrowing from Ainu), 海狗腎 (kaikakujin, rare, Chinese medicine, literally sea-dog testicles), 海狗 (kaikaku, rare, Chinese medicine, literally sea-dog)
  2. [from 1703] (archaic) the meat of a fur seal, especially as used medicinally

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as オットセイ (ottosei). In modern usage, the kana spelling may be more common, not least due to the relative complexity and rarity of the kanji characters.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 オットセイ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. ^ 膃肭臍”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. 4.0 4.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. ^ オットセイ”, in 日本辞典 (Nihon Jiten, Japan Dictionary) (in Japanese), 2007–2017.
  6. ^ オットセイ”, in 語源由来辞典 (Gogen Yurai Jiten, Etymology Derivation Dictionary) (in Japanese), 2003–2026.
  7. 7.0 7.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN