玉の緖

See also: 玉の緒

Japanese

Kanji in this term
玉	緖
たま Grade: 1	お Jinmeiyō
kun’yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 玉の緖 – see the following entry.

【玉たまの緒お】 [noun] a beaded string, especially a jewelled necklace [noun] (idiomatic, by extension of “connecting more beads into a string”) the shortness in space of something [noun] (figurative) the (thread of) life, one’s own existence [noun] (historical) during the Edo period, Buddhist mala beads used in Buddha worship [noun] Synonym of 見せばや (misebaya): Hylotelephium sieboldii, a species of stonecrop

(This term, 玉の緖, is the kyūjitai of the above term.)

Old Japanese

Etymology

Literally “thread of jewels” or “cord of beads”, likely in reference as jewellery.

Noun

玉の緒 (tama no₂ wo) (kana たまのを)

1. a beaded string, jewelled thread
   • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 20, poem 4493:
     , text here

     始春乃波都禰乃家布能多麻婆波伎手爾等流可良爾由良久多麻能乎

     patuparu no₂ patune no₂ ke₁pu no₂ tamabapaki₁ te ni to₂ru kara ni yuraku tama no₂ wo

     On the first spring on the first day of the Rat, I take with my hands today’s broom decketh with its trembly-resounding strings of jewels.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:玉の緖.

Derived terms

• 玉の緖の (tama no₂ wo no₂, pillow word)
• 玉の緖ばかり (tama no₂ wo bakari)

Descendants

• Japanese: 玉の緒 (tama no o)

See also

• 息の緖 (iki₁ no₂ wo)