もろこし

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spellings
唐土唐

⟨mo₂ro₂ ko₁si⟩ → ⟨moro₂ko₁si⟩ → */morəkosi/ → /morokoɕi/

From Old Japanese, first attested in the Man'yōshū (c. 759 CE).

Originally a compound of 諸 (moro-, prefix meaning "many") +‎ 越 (koshi), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of 越す (kosu, “to cross (over)”),^[1] by reinterpretation of kun-reading 越 (koshi) from on-reading of 越 (Etsu).^[2] The compound refers to the 百越 (Bǎi Yuè, “Baiyue”, literally “Hundred Yue”),^[3] a collective name for various ethnic groups which inhabited Southern China.

The kanji spellings 唐土 and 唐 are jukujikun (熟字訓), literally meaning “Tang land” and “Tang” respectively.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) もろこし [mòrókóshí] (Heiban – [0])^[1]^[4]
IPA^(key): [mo̞ɾo̞ko̞ɕi]

Proper noun

もろこし • (Morokoshi)

(archaic) China
Synonyms: 唐土 (Tōdo), 唐 (Tō), 唐 (Kara), (modern) 中国 (Chūgoku)

Noun

もろこし • (morokoshi)

(archaic) any objects imported from China

Derived terms

もろこしきび (morokoshi kibi)

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of もろこし – see the following entry.

【蜀黍】	[noun] sorghum, Sorghum bicolor [noun] short for 玉蜀黍 (tōmorokoshi, “maize, corn (especially corn on the cob)”) Alternative spellings 唐黍, モロコシ

(This term, もろこし (morokoshi), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as もろこし, see Category:Japanese kanji read as もろこし.)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ “唐土・唐”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ 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), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[DJR-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[DJS-2] Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[KDJ2-3] “唐土・唐”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[NHK-4] 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), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

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