天花
Chinese
| day; sky; heaven | flower; blossom; to spend; fancy pattern | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| simp. and trad. (天花) |
天 | 花 | |
| Literally: “heaven flower”. | |||
Etymology
Originally the Chinese translation of several Sanskrit and Pali words, including Sanskrit खपुष्प (khapuṣpa, “flower in the sky”), as well as several plant names, such as Sanskrit दिव्यपुष्प (divyapuṣpa, “oleander [heaven-flower]”) / Pali devapuppha, and Sanskrit शालपुष्प (śālapuṣpa, “confederate rose [house-flower]”).
The development from “heaven-flower” (or other interpretations of the combination) to “smallpox” is unknown. It may be due to the shape resemblance of smallpox pustules to the divine flowers in Buddhism. Compare Tibetan ལྷ་འབྲུམ (lha 'brum, “smallpox [deva-pustule]”), མེ་ཏོག (me tog, “flower; (dialectal) smallpox”), and Mongolian ᠰᠠᠯᠬᠢᠨ
ᠴᠡᠴᠡᠭ (salqin čečeg) / салхин цэцэг (salhin tsetseg, “smallpox; chickenpox [wind-flower]”).
Pronunciation
Noun
天花
- (Buddhism) flower of the sky; divine flower, stated in the Lotus Sutra as of four kinds, two white and two red
- (literary, poetic) snowflake; snow
- (medicine) smallpox; variola
Synonyms
- (flower of the sky): 天華／天华, 空華／空华
- (snowflake): 雪花 (xuěhuā)
- (smallpox): 痘瘡／痘疮
Derived terms
Descendants
Japanese
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 天 | 花 |
| てん Grade: 1 |
か Grade: 1 |
| on’yomi | |
Noun
天花 (hiragana てんか, rōmaji tenka)
- snow
- a flower that blossoms in the Buddhist heaven by their tale.
- lotus-petal-shaped confetti scattering before the mortuary tablet.