師走

Japanese

Kanji in this term
師 走
Grade: 5 Grade: 2

Alternative forms

Etymology

sipasu > siɸasu > siwasu. The etymology is unknown, but the final -wasu is perhaps related to the verb 果つ (hatsu, “to come to an end”).

The kanji are ateji, and are made up of the characters for "priest" and "run". There were traditionally many services for Buddhist priests to attend in the last month of the lunar calendar.

Pronunciation

Noun

師走 (hiragana しわす, rōmaji shiwasu, historical hiragana しはす)

  1. (archaic) the twelfth month of the lunar calendar
    • c. 859-985, Kagura Uta, Kodai Kayōshū, page 337:
      本 乎美名古乃左衣八 末 志毛月志波須乃 加伊古本千
  2. (poetic) December

Coordinate terms

References

  • Tsuchihashi, Yutaka; Jin'ichi Konishi, Ichinosuke Takagi (1957) Kodai Kayōshū, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
  1. ↑ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
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