三味線貝
Japanese
| Kanji in this term | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 三 | 味 | 線 | 貝 |
| しゃ Grade: 1 (ateji) |
み Grade: 3 (ateji) |
せん Grade: 2 |
かい > がい Grade: 1 |
| irregular | goon | on'yomi | kun'yomi |
Etymology
Compound of 三味線 (shamisen, a Japanese plucked string instrument) + 貝 (kai, “shellfish”).
The kai changes to gai as an instance of rendaku (連濁)..
Pronunciation
Noun
三味線貝 • (shamisengai) ←しやみせんがひ (syamisengafi)?
- a lamp shell, lingulate brachiopod of the family Lingulidae
- Synonym: 女冠者 (mekaja, dialectal)
- Hypernym: 腕足類 (wansokurui)
Usage notes
As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as シャミセンガイ (shamisengai).