分銅

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
ふん
Grade: 2
どう
Grade: 5
on'yomi kan'yōon

Uncertain. Given the kan'yōyomi of for the character, probably a Japanese coinage from Middle Chinese-derived elements, as a compound of (ふん) (fun, a unit of weight, roughly 375 milligrams) + (どう) (, copper).

Pronunciation

Noun

(ふん)(どう) • (fundō

  1. a metal weight, often made of copper, used in a balance scale; traditionally had a kind of hourglass shape
  2. any gold or silver ingot cast in an hourglass shape; such ingots were formerly kept as emergency savings
  3. (obsolete, slang) a 二朱銀 (nishugin, Edo-period coin of refined silver)
  4. any other weight used with a balance scale
  5. a 家紋 (kamon, family crest) in the shape of a stylized fundō weight
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
ふん
Grade: 2
どん
Grade: 5
on'yomi irregular

Alteration from fundō. Non-standard reading of don for may indicate influence from early Mandarin or Cantonese readings (modern tóng and tung²), or perhaps more likely, influence from an early version of Korean (dong).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ɸɯ̟̃ndõ̞ɴ]

Noun

(ふん)(どん) • (fundon

  1. a fundō weight
  2. a silver weight or (daidai, bitter orange) tied to the end of a bit of string, used in a 宝引き (hōbiki, a kind of lottery or draw straws)
  3. a shape that is pinched in the middle like a fundō weight

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
ぶん
Grade: 2
どう
Grade: 5
on'yomi

Alteration from fundō, using the goon reading of bun for the character.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [bɯ̟̃ndo̞ː]

Noun

(ぶん)(どう) • (bundō

  1. a weight
Derived terms
  • 分銅秤(ぶんどうばかり) (bundō-bakari): a balance scale

References

  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ^ 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
  • Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN