ぶらんこ

Japanese
Alternative spelling
鞦韆 (rare)
ぶらんこ (buranko): a pair of swings, a swingset.

Etymology

Almost certainly from mimetic adverb ぶらん (buran, “hanging loosely”) +‎ こ (-ko, nominalizer).[1][2] Compare がちんこ (gachinko, “a serious (sumo) match”), from adverb がちん (gachin, “thuddingly”) + こ (ko, nominalizer).

The oldest attestation listed in the Nihon Kokugo Daijiten is from 1867,[1] but the word apparently became common earlier in the Edo period.[3] This form appears to have superseded older ぶらここ (burakoko) in everyday use, first cited to 1685.[1]

Often mentioned as possibly from Portuguese balanço.[1][3][4][5] However, the /a/ → /u/ vowel shift cannot be accounted for, nor can the difference between the /s/ in Portuguese versus the hard /k/ in Japanese. Considering also that the core adverbial root ぶら (bura) is attestable already in 1477 in the forms ぶらぶら (burabura) and ぶらり (burari),[6][7] and older root ふら (fura) in 1221 in the form ふらふら (furafura),[8] well before first contact with Portuguese speakers in 1542, any derivation directly from Portuguese is likely only a folk etymology.

Pronunciation

Noun

ぶらんこ or ブランコ • (buranko) 

  1. [from 1800s] a swing (hanging seat), a swingset
  2. [from 1894] (archaic) swinging, something that swings, particularly a hanged person

References
  1. “鞦韆”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. “ぶらんこ”, in 日本大百科全書：ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, “Encyclopedia Nipponica”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984
  4. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. “ぶらんこ”, in 世界大百科事典 第２版 (Sekai Dai-hyakka Jiten Dainihan, “Heibonsha World Encyclopedia Second Edition”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Heibonsha, 1998
  6. “ぶらぶら”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  7. “ぶらり”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  8. “ふらふら”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
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