丸太

Japanese
Kanji in this term
丸 太
まる
Grade: 2		 た
Grade: 2
kun’yomi kan’yōon

Etymology

Compound of 丸 (maru, “circle; round”) +‎ 太 (ta, “fat”, here possibly emphasizing the roundness).[1][2]

First cited to a text from 1633.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

丸(まる)太(た) • (maruta)  (alternative reading hiragana まろた, rōmaji marota) (less common)

  1. [from 1633] a log: unsawn lumber (UK) or timber (US), a section of a tree cut to a length and with the bark removed, but otherwise round and unfinished
    Synonyms: 丸木 (maruki), 丸太ん棒 (marutanbō)
  2. [from 1697] alternate name for the 似鯉(にごい) (nigoi) fish (Hemibarbus barbus); more commonly known as ニゴイ (nigoi)
  3. [from ???] the Pacific redfin (Tribolodon brandtii); more commonly known as マルタウグイ (maruta ugui)
  4. [from circa 1687] (historical, slang) during the Edo period, derogatory term for an unlicensed prostitute dressed as a Buddhist nun as a form of disguise from the authorities (from the way the shaven head looks a bit like a debarked log, and from the way that they both roll around)
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:娼婦
  5. [from 1937] (historical) human test subjects of Unit 731

Derived terms
Derived terms
  • 丸太小屋(まるたごや) (maruta-goya): a log cabin
  • 丸太(まるた)ん棒(ぼう) (marutanbō): a log (more casual)
  • 丸太魚(まるたうお) (maruta uo): a maruta fish: a ニゴイ (nigoi)
  • 丸太式舞台(まるたしきぶたい) (maruta-shiki butai): a log-style (theater) stage, made of hewn logs
  • 丸太舟(まるたぶね) (marutabune): a kind of boat made of logs and used mainly on Lake Biwa starting from the medieval period
  • 丸太洗(まるたあら)い (marutārai): logs used to shore up the bottom of a reservoir pond or sewer outlet

Idioms
  • 丸太(まるた)に糠釘(ぬかくぎ) (maruta ni nukakugi): “a tack into a log” → a metaphor for one's intentions or feelings not getting through to another person, much as a tack will not go through a log

Descendants
  • → Chinese: 馬路大／马路大 (mǎlùdà)
  • → Korean: 마루타 (maruta, “human guinea pig”)

Further reading

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 (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →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
  5. 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
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