그르메너흐리

Middle Korean

Etymology

Inherited from Old Korean 影亇伊汝乙伊 (*kulumeynehuli), 影良汝乙伊 (*kulumeynehuli), attested in the Hyang'yak gugeupbang (鄕藥救急方 / 향약구급방), 1236. By surface analysis, 그르메〮 (kùlùméy, “shadow”) +‎ 너흘〮- (nèhúl-, “to bite”) +‎ -이〮 (-í, agent noun-deriving suffix), literally "shadow biter".^[1]

Nam (1981:44) suggests this name was given due to people mistaking boils caused by earwigs' urine for bug bites. However, earwigs do not urinate, nor do they secrete anything else that could cause such symptoms. It seems much more likely that the name refers to the insect's pincers; compare the modern Korean name 집게벌레 (jipgebeolle, lit. "pincer bug").

Pronunciation

(Morphophonemic) IPA^(key): ⫽kɨ̀lɨ̀mɘ́j-nɘ̀hɨ́li⫽

Noun

그르메〮너흐〮리〮 (kùlùméynèhúlí)

earwig

Descendants

⇒ Early Modern Korean: 그리매 (kulimay)
- Korean: 그리마 (geurima)

References

^ 남풍현 (1981) “影亇伊汝乙伊”, in 借(차)字(자)表(표)記(기)法(법) 硏(연)究(구)：鄕(향)藥(약)救(구)急(급)方(방)의 鄕(향)名(명)表(표)記(기)를 中(중)心(심)으로 [Study on the use of Chinese characters in Korean orthography: Focusing on medicine name transcriptions in the Hyangyak gugeupbang] (in Korean) (Doctoral thesis), 서울: 서울대학교, page 44

[1] 남풍현 (1981) “影亇伊汝乙伊”, in 借(차)字(자)表(표)記(기)法(법) 硏(연)究(구)：鄕(향)藥(약)救(구)急(급)方(방)의 鄕(향)名(명)表(표)記(기)를 中(중)心(심)으로 [Study on the use of Chinese characters in Korean orthography: Focusing on medicine name transcriptions in the Hyangyak gugeupbang] (in Korean) (Doctoral thesis), 서울: 서울대학교, page 44

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