海松

⟨mi₁ru⟩ → */mʲiru/ → /miru/

From Old Japanese, appearing in the Man'yōshū poetry anthology of roughly 759 CE.^[1] Further derivation unknown.

Cognate with Okinawan びーる (bīru), Northern Amami Ōshima びる (biru), Yaeyama べぃーれぃ (bïïrï).

The kanji spelling literally means “sea pine”.

• (Tokyo) みる [míꜜrù] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [mʲiɾɯ̟]

海松(みる) or 海松(ミル) • (miru) 

1. [circa 759] green sea or dead man's fingers of species Codium fragile

   Synonyms: 海松房 (mirubusa), 海松布 (mirume)

2. short for 海松色 (miruiro): a dark yellowish-green color

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

Compound of 海 (umi, “sea”) +‎ 松 (matsu, “pine”).^[1][2]

First cited to roughly 935 CE.^[1]

• (Tokyo) うみまつ [ùmíꜜmàtsù] (Nakadaka – [2])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [ɯ̟mʲima̠t͡sɨ]

海(うみ)松(まつ) • (umimatsu) 

1. [circa 1014] a pine tree on the seashore
2. [1709] synonym of 海唐松 (umi karamatsu): a coral of the family Antipathidae
3. [circa 935] (colloquial) green sea or dead man's fingers, of species Codium fragile

From Proto-Japonic *miru. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

海松 (mi₁ru) (kana みる)

1. the green sea or dead man's fingers, Codium fragile
   • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 5, poem 892:
     , text here

     ...錦毛奈伎布可多衣乃美留乃其等和和氣佐我禮流可可布能尾肩爾打懸...

     ...wata mo naki₁ nuno₂ katagi₁nu no₂ mi₁ru no₂ go₂to₂ wawake₂-sagareru kakapu no₂mi₂ kata ni utikake₂...

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

• 深海松 (pukami₁ru)
• 俣海松 (matami₁ru)

• Japanese: 海松 (miru)