긴업

Korean

Etymology

Univerbation of 긴 (gin, “long”) +‎ 업(業) (eop, “spirit of wealth”). "Long" is euphemistic for "snake"; compare 긴 것 (gin geot, “snake”, literally “long thing”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈki(ː)nʌ̹p̚]
• Phonetic hangul: [기(ː)넙]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	gineop
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	gin'eob
McCune–Reischauer?	kinŏp
Yale Romanization?	kīn.ep

Noun

긴업 • (gineop)

1. (folk religion, shamanism) auspicious rat snake; the household spirit of wealth, in the physical form of a rat snake

   Synonym: 업(業)구렁이 (eopgureong'i)

   우리 집에 긴업이 들었으니 경사스러운 일일세.

   Uri jib-e gineob-i deureosseuni gyeongsaseureoun ir-ilse.

   A lucky snake has come into our house, what an auspicious event!

Trivia

• Traditionally, rat snakes are associated with wealth because they eat mice in the granary, who would otherwise eat the grain supplies.