虹

虹 (Kangxi radical 142, 虫+3, 9 strokes, cangjie input 中戈一 (LIM), four-corner 5111₀, composition ⿰虫工)

• 渱, 𬁅, 𫕩, 𬀒

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1076, character 40
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 32830
• Dae Jaweon: page 1545, character 23
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2834, character 8
• Unihan data for U+8679

Originally pictographic (象形) in the oracle bone script. The ancient Chinese regarded the rainbow as a two-headed creature.

In the seal script, it has become a phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *kroːŋs, *koːŋs, *ɡoːŋ): semantic 虫 (“insect; creature”) + phonetic 工 (OC *koːŋ).

Probably non-Sino-Tibetan; compare Proto-Mien *kluŋᴬ (“rainbow”), Thai รุ้ง (rúng, “rainbow”), Zhuang duzdoengz (“rainbow”), saidoengz (“rainbow”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Benedict (1986) and Carr (1990) relate this to 龍 (OC *b·roŋ, *mroːŋ, “dragon”) and 紅 (OC *ɡoːŋ, “red”). Ferlus (2013) relates this to 江 (OC *kroːŋ, “river”), 洚 (OC *kruːŋs, *ɡruːŋ, *ɡloːŋ, *ɡluːŋ, “flood”), and 龍 (OC *b·roŋ, *mroːŋ, “dragon”), and posits that these words are derived from a root *-roŋ, with meanings related to moving water.

虹

1. rainbow; primary rainbow (Classifier: 條／条 m c; 道 m)

   彩虹  ―  cǎihóng  ―  rainbow

   天上出虹了。  ―  Tiānshàng chū jiàng le.  ―  There's a rainbow in the sky.

2. (literary, figurative) bridge

• (rainbow):

• (basic weather words shared by most dialects): 雲／云 (yún, “cloud”), 霧／雾 (wù, “fog, mist”), 風／风 (fēng, “wind”), 雨 (yǔ, “rain”), 雪 (xuě, “snow”), 電／电 (diàn, “lightning”), 雷 (léi, “thunder”), 虹 (hóng, “rainbow”)

• 霓 (ní)

虹

1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to fester
2. only used in 虹洞

虹

1. (historical) a county in modern Anhui, China

• 莆田市政协文化文史和学习委员会 [Culture, History and Learning Committee of Putian CPPCC], editor (2021), “虹”, in 莆仙方言大词典 [Comprehensive Dictionary of Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 331.
• 莆田市荔城区档案馆 [Putian City Licheng District Archives], editor (2022), “虹”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 [Puxian Dialect Literary Reading Dictionary] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 89.

(Jōyō kanji)

• Go-on: ぐ (gu)
• Kan-on: こう (kō)
• Kun: にじ (niji, 虹, Jōyō)

⟨nizi⟩ → /niʑi/

From Old Japanese 虹 (nizi), ultimately from Proto-Japonic *nonsi. First attested in the Kojiki of 712 CE.^[1]

Also attested as man’yōgana form 爾自 in the 金光明最勝王経音義 (Konkōmyō Saishōō-kyō Ongi) of 1079. May be a shift from earlier ぬじ (nuji) or のじ (noji) readings.

• (Tokyo) にじ [nìjí] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [ɲ̟iʑi]

虹(にじ) • (niji) 

1. a rainbow

   Synonym: 虹霓 (kōgei)

   春雨(はるさめ)がやんだ途(と)端(たん)に、美(うつく)しい虹(にじ)が現(あらわ)れた。

   Harusame ga yanda totan ni, utsukushii niji ga arawareta.

   Just as the spring shower passed, a beautiful rainbow appeared.

   • 938, Minamoto no Shitagō, Wamyō Ruijushō, volume 1:

     虹　毛詩註云：「螮蝀虹也帝董、二音螮又作_レ蝃。」［和名：爾之］
     　　兼名苑云：「虹，一名蜺。」五稽反、與_レ鯢同、又五結倪擊二反。
     　　今按、雄曰_レ虹、雌曰_レ蜺也。

     Rainbow - according to the annotated Mao Commentary, a bridge becomes a rainbow by the Emperor’s command of two syllables: tei-tung or teitō. Japanese name, niji.
     According to the Jianming Yuan, 虹 is also written as 蜺 (Chinese fanqie: 五稽), same [component] with 鯢; five salamanders connect themselves by their ends (Chinese fanqie [of latter]: 擊二).
     Today, males call the rainbow 虹 while females 蜺.

• 虹(にじ)を吐(は)く (niji o haku)

From Middle Chinese 虹 (MC huwng).

虹(こう) • (kō) 

1. rainbow
2. rainbowlike

From Middle Chinese 虹 (MC huwng). Recorded as Middle Korean 호ᇰ (hwong) (Yale: hwong) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Wikisource

虹 (eumhun 무지개 홍 (mujigae hong))

1. hanja form^? of 홍 (“rainbow”)

   Synonym: 霓 (예 (ye))

From Middle Chinese 虹 (MC kuwngH).

虹 (eumhun 고을 이름 공 (go'eul ireum gong))

1. hanja form^? of 공 (“a placename”)

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [3]

(Jōyō kanji)

• Kun: ぬーじ (nūji)

From Proto-Ryukyuan *nozi.

• (Shuri) ぬ​ーじ [núꜜùjì] (Kakō – [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [nuːʑi]

虹(ぬーじ) (nūji) 

1. a rainbow

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

虹 (nizi) (kana にじ)

1. a rainbow

   Synonyms: ぬじ (nuzi), のじ (no₁zi)

   • 711–712, Kojiki, middle volume (Emperor Ōjin; Kanenaga-bon glosses^[1]):

     此沼之邊、一賤女晝寢、於是日耀_二如_レ虹_一、指_二其陰上_一。

     In the vicinity of the pond, the vulgar woman slept during the day, then on this day, like a shining rainbow, she fingered the upper vagina.

• Japanese: 虹 (niji)

虹: Hán Việt readings: hồng^[1]
虹: Nôm readings: vồng^[1]

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.