波布
Japanese
波布 (habu): the habu pit viper.
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 波 | 布 |
| は Grade: 3 |
ふ > ぶ Grade: 5 |
| on’yomi | |
Etymology
Borrowed from Okinawan 蛇 (habu, “snake”). Likely cognate with Japanese 蛇 (hebi, “snake”).
- Possibly an alteration from 反鼻 (hanbi), an obsolete term for a kind of Chinese medicine made from the skin and/or organs of certain venomous snakes.
- More likely, may be an alteration from 蛇 (hebi, “snake”). Some dialects distinguish between non-poisonous hebi and poisonous habi.
- Possibly also related to, or influenced by, Old Japanese-derived verb 食む (hamu, “to bite”). An /m/ - /b/ alternation can be found in some Japanese words, so a shift from hamu to habu is a reasonable possibility. The standard modern Japanese word hebi for “snake” may similarly be derived from, or have been influenced by, hamu “to bite”.
The kanji spelling 波布 is an example of ateji, with the characters chosen purely for their phonetic values.
Noun
波布 or 波布 • (habu)
- a venomous pit viper of species Protobothrops flavoviridis (syn. Trimeresurus flavoviridis), native to Okinawa
Usage notes
As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ハブ.
Derived terms
Derived terms
- 本波布 (honhabu): the “real” or “true” habu
- ハブ属 (habuzoku): the genus Protobothrops
- 波布草 (habusō): Senna occidentalis, also called coffee senna or coffeeweed, a wide-ranging tropical plant with seeds sometimes used for a beverage similar to coffee
- 波布茶 (habucha): a beverage made by roasting senna seeds and steeping in water
Descendants
- English: habu
References
- Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 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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