伽羅

Chinese

		phonetic
trad. (伽羅)		伽	羅
simp. (伽罗)		伽	罗

Etymology

There are two leading theories:

From the first two syllables of 伽羅阿伽嚧 (MC gja la 'a gja lu), a phonetic rendering of Sanskrit कालागुरु (kālāguru), referring to a kind of fragrant black (काल (kāla)) agarwood (अगुरु (aguru)) used for incense.^[1]^[2]
From the last two syllables of 多伽羅 (MC ta gja la), from Sanskrit तगर (tagara), referring to Tabernaemontana coronaria (pinwheel flower or crepe jasmine) or a fragrant powder made from the plant.^[1]^[3]^[2]

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): qiéluó, jiāluó

(Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄝˊ ㄌㄨㄛˊ, ㄐㄧㄚㄌㄨㄛˊ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: qiéluó
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄝˊ ㄌㄨㄛˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ciéluó
  - Wade–Giles: chʻieh²-lo²
  - Yale: chyé-lwó
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chyeluo
  - Palladius: цело (celo)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ɛ³⁵ lu̯ɔ³⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: jiāluó
  - Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄚㄌㄨㄛˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jialuó
  - Wade–Giles: chia¹-lo²
  - Yale: jyā-lwó
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jialuo
  - Palladius: цзяло (czjalo)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯ä⁵⁵ lu̯ɔ³⁵/

Noun

伽羅

(historical) a form of high-grade agarwood
Synonyms: 奇楠 (qínán), 沉香 (chénxiāng)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
伽	羅
か Jinmeiyō	ら Grade: S
kan'yōon	on'yomi

Alternative spellings
加羅迦羅

From Gaya [script needed] (kara).^[1]^[2]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) から [kàrá] (Heiban – [0])^[3]
IPA^(key): [ka̠ɾa̠]

Proper noun

伽(か)羅(ら) • (Kara)

(historical) the Gaya confederacy: a grouping of smaller states on the southern end of the Korean peninsula, roughly dating to 42-532 CE
Synonyms: 伽耶 (Kaya), 任那 (Mimana)

Coordinate terms

百済(くだら) (Kudara, “Baekje”)
高句麗(こうくり) (Kōkuri, “Goguryeo”)
新羅(しらぎ) (Shiragi, “Silla”)

Derived terms

韓(から) (Kara, “Korea”), by extension of the Gaya confederacy to the entire Korean peninsula
- 漢(から) (Kara, “(Han dynasty) China”), by extension of the Korean peninsula further to the Chinese mainland
- 唐(から) (Kara, “(Tang dynasty) China”)
  - 唐(から) (kara, “foreign lands”, in general), by extension of "China"

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
伽	羅
きゃ Jinmeiyō	ら Grade: S
goon

There are two leading theories, both deriving from Middle Chinese 伽羅 (MC gja la):

From the first two syllables of 伽羅阿伽嚧 (MC gja la 'a gja lu), a phonetic rendering of Sanskrit कालागुरु (kālāguru), referring to a kind of fragrant black (kāla) agarwood tree (aguru) used for incense.^[2]^[4]
From the last two syllables of 多伽羅 (MC ta gja la), a phonetic rendering of Sanskrit तगर (tagara), referring to Tabernaemontana coronaria (pinwheel flower or crepe jasmine) or a fragrant powder made from the plant.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) きゃら [kyáꜜrà] (Atamadaka – [1])^[3]
(Tokyo) きゃら [kyàrá] (Heiban – [0])^[3]
IPA^(key): [kʲa̠ɾa̠]

Noun

伽(きゃ)羅(ら) • (kyara)

short for 伽羅木 (kyaraboku): a Japanese yew variety, Taxus cuspidata var. nana
an aromatic tree
incense, especially when made from such aromatic wood
(by extension) something of high quality, a rarity, a luxury
(historical slang, obsolete) during the Edo period, a red-light district slang word for "money"
flattery, sycophancy

Derived terms

伽羅(きゃら)色(いろ) (kyarairo, “dark reddish brown color”)
伽羅(きゃら)柿(がき) (kyaragaki): a variety of persimmon noted for its darker skin and sweeter taste
伽羅(きゃら)臭(くさ)い (kyarakusai, “ostentatious, showy, overdone”)
伽羅(きゃら)細(ざい)工(く) (kyara zaiku): fine woodwork created using aromatic woods
伽羅(きゃら)代(だい) (kyara dai): in the Edo period, a red-light district slang term for money, especially the fee paid to an entertainer or prostitute
伽羅(きゃら)の油(あぶら) (kyara no abura): a kind of pomade or hair oil made from sesame oil, plant resins, and cloves
伽羅(きゃら)の御(おん)方(かた) (kyara no onkata, “one's legal wife”)
伽羅(きゃら)の木(き) (kyara no ki, “Japanese yew”)
伽羅(きゃら)の字(じ) (kyara no ji): in the Edo period, a red-light district slang term for money, especially the fee paid to an entertainer or prostitute
伽羅(きゃら)の枕(まくら) (kyara no makura): a wooden headrest with a drawer for burning incense
伽羅(きゃら)冷(ひやし) (kyara hiyashi): a kind of tin urn or tin-plated box, partially filled with water, over which agarwood incense is placed; used in summer
伽羅(きゃら)蕗(ぶき) (kyarabuki): butterbur stems simmered in soy sauce until dark reddish brown
伽羅(きゃら)木(ぼく) (kyaraboku, “Japanese yew”)
伽羅(きゃら)枕(まくら) (kyara makura): a wooden headrest with a drawer for burning incense
伽羅(きゃら)女(め) (kyarame, “beautiful woman”, slang)
伽羅(きゃら)者(もの) (kyaramono): a flatterer; an amiable or sociable person who is quick to compliment others

Idioms

伽羅(きゃら)で作(つく)った仏(ほとけ)同然(どうぜん) (kyara de tsukutta hotoke dōzen): “just like a Buddha statue made from agarwood” → agarwood only smells nice when burned, so making a statue out of agarwood is pointless: something or someone of high value, but that turns out to be useless
伽羅(きゃら)を言(い)う (kyara o iu): “to speak incense” → to flatter, to say nice things to flatter or ingratiate someone
伽羅(きゃら)の仏(ほとけ)に箔(はく)置(お)く (kyara no hotoke ni haku oku): “to put gold foil on an agarwood Buddha” → “to put the icing on the cake”: adding something good on top of something that is already good
伽羅(きゃら)も焚(た)かず屁(へ)もこかず (kyara mo takazu he mo kokazu): “not even burning incense, not even passing gas” → neither here nor there, neither good nor bad

Coordinate terms

木(き)所(どころ) (kidokoro): 伽羅(きゃら) (kyara), 羅(ら)国(こく) (rakoku), 真南蛮(まなばん) (manaban), 真那伽(まなか) (manaka), 佐曽羅(さそら) (sasora), 寸門多羅(すもたら) (sumotara)

References

^ Christopher I. Beckwith (2009) Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present, Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 105: “The spelling Kaya is the modern Korean reading of the characters used to write the name; the pronunciation /kara/ (transcriptionally *kala) is certain.”
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[KDJ-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJS-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

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

[4] Christopher I. Beckwith (2009) Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present, Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 105: “The spelling Kaya is the modern Korean reading of the characters used to write the name; the pronunciation /kara/ (transcriptionally *kala) is certain.”

[KDJ-5] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-6] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[DJS-7] 4.0 ^4.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

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