尺取虫

Japanese

Kanji in this term
尺	取	虫
しゃく Grade: 6	と(り) Grade: 3	むし Grade: 1
on'yomi	kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
尺取蟲 (kyūjitai) 尺取り虫

Etymology

From 尺(しゃく) (shaku, “shaku”) + 取(と)り (tori, “taking”, 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 取(と)る (toru).) + 虫(むし) (mushi, “bug”).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) しゃくとりむし [shàkútóríꜜmùshì] (Nakadaka – [4])^[1]
IPA^(key): [ɕa̠kɯ̟to̞ɾʲimɯ̟ɕi]

Noun

尺(しゃく)取(とり)虫(むし) or 尺取虫(シャクトリムシ) • (shakutorimushi) ^{←しやくとりむし (syakutorimusi)^?}

measuring worm; looper

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary).

References

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