기린

Korean
A giraffe brought from Somalia in 1414.

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 麒麟. The archaic sense of legendary animal is attested in the two-millennia old Confucianist Classic of Rites that reads bonghwang-girin (鳳凰麒麟).[1] Since Admiral Zheng He brought a giraffe from Somalia to China in 1414, this Hanja word was equated with Somali geri or the like meaning "giraffe" then (See Citations:기린), which on the other hand may have influenced the etymology of Italian giraffa (since Medici giraffe in 1486) and its European derivatives via Arabic ⁧زَرَافَة⁩ (zarāfa).

Pronunciation
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?girin
Revised Romanization (translit.)?gilin
McCune–Reischauer?kirin
Yale Romanization?kilin

Noun

기린 • (girin) (counter 마리, hanja 麒麟)

  1. a giraffe (mammal)
  2. (Chinese mythology) a qilin

Derived terms

See also

References
  1. 민중서관편집국편. 新字海. 민중서림
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