芋虫
Japanese
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 芋 | 虫 |
| いも Grade: S |
むし Grade: 1 |
| kun'yomi | |
| Alternative spelling |
|---|
| 芋蟲 (kyūjitai) |
Etymology
Compound of 芋 (imo, “potato, tuber”) + 虫 (mushi, “bug, worm”). Refers specifically to hairless caterpillars, most specifically to varieties that eat the leaves of the 里芋 (sato imo, “taro”) or 薩摩芋 (satsuma imo, “sweet potato”).[1][2][3]
First attested in the Nippo Jisho of 1603.[1][4]
Pronunciation
Noun
芋虫 or 芋虫 • (imomushi)
- a hairless caterpillar [from 1603]
- 1999 September 23, “アシッドクロウラー [Acid Crawler]”, in Vol.5, Konami:
- 巨大ないもむし。強力な酸をはき、何でも溶かしてしまう。
- Kyodai na imomushi. Kyōryoku na san o haki, nan demo tokashite shimau.
- A gigantic caterpillar. Its acid is so strong it can melt anything.
- 巨大ないもむし。強力な酸をはき、何でも溶かしてしまう。
- (figurative) an angry person (from the way that a person may puff up when angry and go red and swollen in the face, similar to the defense behaviors of some caterpillars) [from 1690]
- (figurative, derogatory) a dummy; a term used to ridicule a person [from 1749]
- a children's song and game, played by everyone squatting and holding onto the waist or shoulders of the person in front, and the whole group trying to move like a caterpillar [from 1830s]
- Synonyms: 芋虫ころころ (imomushi korokoro), 芋虫ごろごろ (imomushi gorogoro)
- a kind of traditional toy made to look and move like a caterpillar
- Synonyms: 俵転ばし (tawara korobashi), 俵返り (kawaga-gaeri)
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 イモムシ (imomushi).
See also
- 毛虫 (kemushi, “a hairy caterpillar”)
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
- ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ^ “芋虫”, in 改訂新版 世界大百科事典 (Kaitei Shinpan Sekai Dai-hyakka Jiten, “Heibonsha World Encyclopedia Revised Edition”)[1] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Heibonsha, 2007, →ISBN
- ^ Ishizuka, Harumichi (1976 [1603]) 日葡辞書: パリ本 [Nippo Jisho: Paris edition / Vocabulary of the Language of Japan][2] (overall work in Japanese and Portuguese), Tōkyō: Bensei Publishing, entry available at Google Books here, left-hand column, headword Imomuxi
- ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN