べこ

See also: へこ, へご, and べご

Japanese
Alternative spelling
牛

Etymology

First attested in the late 18th century.[1]

This appears to be cognate with Ainu ペコ (peko).[2] However, it is not clear if the Japanese term was borrowed from Ainu, or if the Ainu term was borrowed from Japanese.

Pronunciation

Noun

べこ or ベコ • (beko) 

  1. (dialect, Tōhoku) a cow
    Synonym: (variation more common further north) べご (bego)
    • 1984, Yoshi Ikuzō (lyrics and music), “Ora Tōkyō sa Igu da [I'm Goin' to Tokyo]”, performed by Yoshi Ikuzō:
      東(とう)京(きょう)へ出(で)だなら　銭(ぜに)コア貯(た)めで　東(とう)京(きょう)で牛(ベコ)飼(か)うだ
      Tōkyō e deda nara zenikoa tamede Tōkyō de beko kau da
      If I go out to Tokyo, I'd save up my money and get myself a cow there!

Derived terms

References
  1. “べこ”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. John Batchelor (1905) An Ainu-English-Japanese dictionary (including a grammar of the Ainu language)‎, Tokyo, London: Methodist Publishing House; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner Co., available online here
  3. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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