白妙

Japanese

Kanji in this term
白	妙
しろ Grade: 1	たえ Grade: S
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
白栲

Etymology 1

/siro₁ tape₂/ → /sirotape/ → /sirotafe/ → /ɕirotawe/ → /ɕiɾotae/

From Old Japanese. Found in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE, spelled either phonetically in man'yōgana, or as 白細, 白布, 白細布, 白木綿.

Originally a compound of 白(しろ) (shiro, “white”) + 栲(たえ) (tae, “cloth”, archaic). The use of 妙 (“excellent, delicate”) is an example of jukujikun (熟字訓), usually as a part of a 枕詞 (makurakotoba, “pillow word”). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) しろたえ [shìrótáé] (Heiban – [0])
• (Tokyo) しろ​たえ [shìróꜜtàè] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [ɕiɾo̞ta̠e̞]

Noun

白(しろ)妙(たえ) • (shirotae) ^{←しろたへ (sirotafe)?}

1. a white cloth, made from the fibers of, for example, the 梶の木 (kajinoki, “paper mulberry”) tree.
2. (by extension) the colour white

Synonyms

• (white): 白(はく)色(しょく) (hakushoku)

Derived terms

• 白(しろ)妙(たえ)の (shirotae no, pillow word)

Derived terms

• 白(シロ)妙(タエ)菊(ギク) (shirotaegiku, “Jacobaea maritima (syn. Senecio cineraria)”, type of white chrysanthemum)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
白	妙
しら Grade: 1	たえ Grade: S
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
白栲

/sira tape₂/ → /siratape/ → /siratafe/ → /ɕiratawe/ → /ɕiɾatae/

Variant spelling of shirotae above. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) しらたえ [shìrátáé] (Heiban – [0])
• (Tokyo) しら​たえ [shìráꜜtàè] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [ɕiɾa̠ta̠e̞]

Noun

白(しら)妙(たえ) • (shiratae) ^{←しらたへ (siratafe)?}

1. (rare) a white cloth, made from the fibers of, for example, the 梶の木 (kajinoki, “paper mulberry”) tree.
2. (rare, by extension) the colour white