ほととぎす

Japanese

Etymology 1
Alternative spellings
子規
時鳥
杜宇
杜鵑
田鵑
蜀魂
郭公
不如帰
ほととぎす (hototogisu): a print of a flying lesser cuckoo by Utagawa Hiroshige.

From Old Japanese.

The final su is most likely す (su, “bird”, ancient term only found in old compounds), itself possibly cognate with Korean 새 (sae, “bird”).

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) ほとと​ぎす [hòtótóꜜgìsù] (Nakadaka – [3])[1]
  • IPA(key): [ho̞to̞to̞ɡʲisɨᵝ]

Noun

ほととぎす or ホトトギス • (hototogisu) 

  1. the lesser cuckoo, Cuculus poliocephalus
    Synonyms: 卯月鳥 (uzukidori), 沓手鳥 (kutsutedori), 時つ鳥 (tokitsudori), 時の鳥 (toki no tori)
    Hypernym: 郭公 (kakkō)
    • 1187, Senzai Wakashū (book 3, poem 161; also Hyakunin Isshu, poem 81)
      ほととぎす鳴(な)きつる方(かた)をながむればただ有明(ありあけ)の月(つき)ぞ残(のこ)れる
      hototogisu nakitsuru kata o nagamureba tada ariake no tsuki zo nokoreru
      When I gaze in the direction of the crying cuckoo, only the moon lingers in the dawn.[2]
Derived terms
Derived terms
  • 杜鵑草(ホトトギス) (hototogisu, “toad lily”)
  • 杜鵑(ホトトギス)貝(ガイ) (hototogisugai)
  • 時鳥(ほととぎす)と兄(きょう)弟(だい) (Hototogisu to Kyōdai)
  • 時鳥(ホトトギス)草(ソウ) (hototogisusō)
  • ただ取(と)り山(やま)の時鳥(ほととぎす) (tada tori yama no hototogisu)
  • 鳴(な)かぬなら鳴(な)くまで待(ま)とう時鳥(ほととぎす) (nakanunara naku made matō hototogisu)
  • 目(め)には青(あお)葉(ば)山(やま)時鳥(ほととぎす)初(はつ)松魚(がつお) (me ni wa Aoba-yama hototogisu hatsugatsuo)
  • 山(やま)ほととぎす (yama-hototogisu)
Proverbs
  • あの声(こえ)で蜥蜴(とかげ)くらうかほととぎす (ano koe de tokage kurau ka hototogisu)
  • 鶯(うぐいす)の卵(かいご)の中(なか)のほととぎす (uguisu no kaigo no naka no hototogisu)
  • 子(こ)で子(こ)にならぬほととぎす (ko de ko ni naranu hototogisu)

Etymology 2
For pronunciation and definitions of ほととぎす – see the following entry.
【杜鵑草】
[noun] the toad lily, Tricyrtis hirta
Alternative spellings
時鳥草, 油点草, ホトトギス
(This term, ほととぎす, is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as ほととぎす, see Category:Japanese kanji read as ほととぎす.)

References
  1. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. Haruo Shirane (1998) Traces of Dreams: Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the Poetry of Bashō, illustrated edition, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 208

Old Japanese

Etymology

From ほととぎ (poto2to2gi1, onomatopoeic imitation of the bird's cry) +‎ す (-su, suffix representing birds).

Noun

ほととぎす (poto2to2gi1su)

  1. the lesser cuckoo, Cuculus poliocephalus
  2. (poetic) allusion to 飛幡 (To1bata, a placename)
    • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 12, poem 3165:
      , text here
      霍公鳥飛幡之浦爾敷浪乃屢君乎將見因毛鴨
      poto2to2gi1su To1bata-no2-ura ni siku nami1 no2 sikusiku ki1mi1 wo mi1mu yo2si moga mo
      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Derived terms
  • 醜ほととぎす (siko2-poto2to2gi1su, “ugly cuckoo”)
  • 元ほととぎす (moto2-poto2to2gi1su, “cuckoo that came and sang last year”)
  • 山ほととぎす (yama-poto2to2gi1su, “mountain cuckoo”)

Descendants
  • Japanese: ほととぎす (hototogisu)
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