蒟蒻

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

蒟蒻

1. konjac (foul-smelling plant grown in Asia, Amorphophallus konjac)
2. (literary, rare) betel and bulrush

   • 其園則有蒟蒻茱萸 [MSC, trad.]
     其园则有蒟蒻茱萸 [MSC, simp.]

     From: Western Jin dynasty, 左思, 蜀都賦

     qí yuán zé yǒu jǔruò zhūyú [Pinyin]

     The garden has betel and bulrush, as well as zhuyu

• (konjac): 魔芋 (móyù), 蒻頭／蒻头 (ruòtóu)

Pun on 巨弱 (jù ruò, “very weak”).

蒟蒻

1. (Mainland China, slang, usually self-deprecatory) inexperienced competitor in Chinese science Olympiads (especially informatics olympiads, such as NOI and NOIP)

Probably from Old Japanese, in turn from Middle Chinese 蒟蒻 (MC kjuX|kjuH nyak). The plant is not native to the Japanese archipelago, and was imported from China.

First cited to the 本草和名 (Honsō Wamyō) of circa 918 CE with the reading konyaku.[1] The geminate reading konnyaku is first cited to a text from 1336.[1]

• (Tokyo) こんにゃ​く [kòńnyáꜜkù] (Nakadaka – [3])[2]
• (Tokyo) こんにゃく​ [kòńnyákúꜜ] (Odaka – [4])[2]
• IPA^(key): [kõ̞ɲ̟ɲ̟a̠kɯ̟ᵝ]

蒟(こん)蒻(にゃく) or 蒟蒻(コンニャク) • (konnyaku) 

1. [from 918] 蒟蒻, 菎蒻: konjac (both the plant and the food made from the plant)
2. [from 1775] 蒟蒻: (slang) Short for 蒟蒻島 (Konnyaku-jima).: obsolete name for the 新川 (Shingawa) area in modern-day 中央区 (Chūō-ku, “Central Ward”) in Tokyo

• Not to be confused with コニャック (konyakku, “cognac”).

• Entry at Gogen-Allguide (in Japanese)