巫女

Chinese

witch; Malay female; woman; daughter
simp. and trad.
(巫女)		 巫 女
anagram 女巫

Pronunciation

Noun

巫女

  1. a Japanese female shaman

Japanese

巫女 (miko): a pair of miko or shrine maidens at Meiji Jingu.

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
巫 女
Jinmeiyō Grade: 1
Irregular

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 神 (mi, “spirit, god”) +‎ 子 (ko, “child”), as suggested by the alternative spelling 神子.

Formerly spelled as 巫 on its own.[1] The modern kanji spelling 巫女 appears to be jukujikun (熟字訓).

Pronunciation

Noun

巫女 (hiragana みこ, rōmaji miko)

  1. An unmarried woman who serves at a Shintō shrine, helping to receive visitors and performing 神楽 (kagura) dances at ceremonies, among other responsibilities. A shrine maid.
  2. An unmarried woman who serves a deity as a medium to convey oracles.
    • 2017 April 15, “星せい杯はいを戴いただく巫み女こ [Priestess Who Drinks from the Star Chalice]”, in CODE OF THE DUELISTコード・オブ・ザ・デュエリスト (in Japanese), Konami:
      星 (せい)神 (しん)に鎮 (ちん)魂 (こん)の祈 (いの)りを捧 (ささ)げる巫 (み)女 (こ)。
      Seishin ni chinkon no inori o sasageru miko.
      A priestess who offers soul-reposing prayers to the Star God.
Usage notes

Using the alternate spelling 神子, a miko could be of either gender, but unmarried young women are by far the most common.

Synonyms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
巫 女
ふ
Jinmeiyō		 じょ
Grade: 1
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese compound 巫女 (mju? nrjoX, literally “shaman + woman”). Compare modern Mandarin reading wūnǚ.

Pronunciation

Noun

巫女 (hiragana ふじょ, rōmaji fujo, historical hiragana ふぢよ)

  1. An unmarried woman who serves a deity as a medium to convey oracles.
Synonyms

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. 1 2 3 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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