ぐる

Japanese

Etymology 1

This term is the root of a cluster of terms deriving from a basic meaning of turning, spinning, going around in a circle.

  • ぐるり (gururi, adverb), attested from 1603[1]
  • ぐるぐる (guruguru, adverb), attested from 1625[1]
  • ぐる (guru, noun), attested from 1692[1]
  • ぐるっと (gurutto, adverb), attested from 1907[1]

Almost certainly derived from verb 繰る (kuru, “to wind, to spin, to turn pages”), with similar derivatives:

  • くるり (kururi, adverb), attested from the 1150s[1]
  • くるくる (kurukuru, adverb), attested from the late 900s[1]
  • くるっと (kurutto, adverb), attested from 1907[1]

Compare also likely-related noun 枢 (kuru, kururu, kururi, “door hinge”).

Root

ぐる • (guru) 

  1. rotating, spinning, turning
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Originated as a jōruri or kabuki argot word, from the sense of a (usually criminal) ring that metaphorically goes ぐるぐる (guruguru, “around and around”).[2]

Pronunciation

Noun

ぐる or グル • (guru) 

  1. [from 1717] (slang) accomplice, co-conspirator
    Synonyms: 共犯者 (kyōhansha), 共謀者 (kyōbōsha)

Etymology 3

Shortening of ぐるぐる髷 (guruguru mage, guruguru wage), a hairstyle during the Edo period wherein the hair is simply wound up (guruguru) and pinned on top of the head in a bun.[1]

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) ぐ​る [gúꜜrù] (Atamadaka – [1])
  • IPA(key): [ɡɯ̟ᵝɾɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

ぐる • (guru) 

  1. [from 1692] (slang, historical) the bun hairstyle
    Synonym: ぐるぐる髷 (guruguru mage, guruguru wage)

Etymology 4

Shortening and shift from ぐるり (gururi), from the way that an 帯 (obi, “sash”) winds around the body.[1]

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) ぐ​る [gúꜜrù] (Atamadaka – [1])
  • IPA(key): [ɡɯ̟ᵝɾɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

ぐる • (guru) 

  1. [from 1798] (slang, archaic) an obi
    Synonym: 帯 (obi)

References
  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 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), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
  4. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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