べこ

See also: へこ, へご, and べご

Japanese

Alternative spelling
牛

Etymology

First attested in the late 18th century.^[1]

This appears to be cognate with Ainu ペコ (peko).^[2] However, it is not clear if the Japanese term was borrowed from Ainu, or if the Ainu term was borrowed from Japanese.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) べこ [béꜜkò] (Atamadaka – [1])^[3]
IPA^(key): [be̞ko̞]

Noun

べこ or ベコ • (beko)

(dialect, Tōhoku) a cow
Synonym: (variation more common further north) べご (bego)
- 1984, Yoshi Ikuzō, “Ora Tōkyō sa Igu da [I'm Goin' to Tokyo]”, performed by Yoshi Ikuzō:
  
  東(とう)京(きょう)へ出(で)だなら　銭(ぜに)コア貯(た)めで　東(とう)京(きょう)で牛(ベコ)飼(か)うだ
  Tōkyō e deda nara zenikoa tamede Tōkyō de beko kau da
  If I go out to Tokyo, I'd save up my money and get myself a cow there!

Derived terms

赤(あか)べこ (akabeko)

References

^ “べこ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ John Batchelor (1905) An Ainu-English-Japanese dictionary (including a grammar of the Ainu language)‎^[2], Tokyo, London: Methodist Publishing House; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner Co., available online here
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[1] “べこ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[2] John Batchelor (1905) An Ainu-English-Japanese dictionary (including a grammar of the Ainu language)‎^[2], Tokyo, London: Methodist Publishing House; Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner Co., available online here

[DJR-3] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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