Talk:蟎

Glyph origin?

@Wyang, Daijisen describes this as a Japanese kokuji (Japanese-coined glyph). C.f. https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%A3%81%E8%9D%A8-561920, particularly the line 「[補説]「蟎」は国字。」

Is this correct? I was surprised to see a ZH entry for this character, but I'm aware that there are some kokuji that were adopted outside of Japan. Any insight appreciated.  :)

‑‑ Eiríkr Útlendi │^{Tala við mig} 18:29, 8 November 2017 (UTC)

@Eirikr This character was not found in the classical dictionaries, appeared very infrequently in the classical corpus, and its meaning was not clear. It's part of the compound 蟎腦, which is perhaps an ancient variant of 瑪瑙. The modern use as "mite" seems to be a Japanese influence. In some Japanese sources, this kokuji is said to be a corruption of 蜹 in the cursive script (和製漢字の辞典; 国字の位相と展開: 国字と異体字との関係). To be honest, I didn't think of this character as kokuji prior to this, as it is quite commonly used nowadays. Its popularity is probably related to the fact this character filled the niche concept of 'mite' quite nicely. Wyang (talk) 08:19, 9 November 2017 (UTC)