龍の馬

Old Japanese

Etymology

Calque of Middle Chinese 龍馬 (MC ljowng maeX).

Equivalent to a compound of 龍 (tatu, “dragon”) +‎ の (no2, possessive particle) +‎ 馬 (uma, “horse”).[1][2][3]

Due to either haplology or vowel clustering, the initial u of uma was lost. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

Noun

龍の馬 (tatuno2ma) (kana たつのま)

  1. (idiomatic) an excellent or very fast horse[4]
    • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 5, poem 806:
      多都能馬母伊麻勿愛弖之可阿遠爾與志奈良乃美夜古爾由吉帝己牟丹米
      tatuno2ma mo ima mo etesi ka awoni yo2si Nara no2 mi1yako1 ni yuki1te ko2mu tame2
      A dragon (or majestic) horse now I’d love to have, for the sake of coming to visit thee at the green-soiled capital of Nara [with it].
    • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 5, poem 808:
      多都乃麻乎安禮波毛等米牟阿遠爾與志奈良乃美夜古邇許牟比等乃多仁
      tatuno2ma wo are pa moto2me2mu awoni yo2si Nara no2 mi1yako1 ni ko2mu pi1to2 no2 ta ni
      That dragon (or majestic) horse I’d want to find, if thou wert coming to the green-soiled capital of Nara for a visit.

Descendants
  • Japanese: 竜の馬 (tatsu no (u)ma), in modern dictionaries

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. Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
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