ほととぎす

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spellings
子規時鳥杜宇杜鵑田鵑蜀魂郭公不如帰怨鳥

From Old Japanese. Compound of ほととぎ (hototogi, onomatopoeia, imitative of the bird's cry) +‎ す (su, “bird”, ancient suffix appearing in certain bird names).^[1] Compare the す (su) in 烏 (karasu), 杜鵑 (hototogisu), モズ (mozu).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ほととぎす [hòtótóꜜgìsù] (Nakadaka – [3])^[2]
IPA^(key): [ho̞to̞to̞ɡʲisɨ]

Noun

ほととぎす or ホトトギス • (hototogisu)

lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus)
Synonyms: 卯月鳥 (uzukidori), 沓手鳥 (kutsutedori), 時つ鳥 (tokitsudori), 時の鳥 (toki no tori)

Hypernym: 郭公 (kakkō)
- 1187, Senzai Wakashū (book 3, poem 161; also Hyakunin Isshu, poem 81)
  ほととぎす鳴(な)きつる方(かた)をながむればただ有明(ありあけ)の月(つき)ぞ残(のこ)れる
  hototogisu nakitsuru kata o nagamureba tada ariake no tsuki zo nokoreru
  When I gaze in the direction of the crying cuckoo, only the moon lingers in the dawn.^[3]

Derived terms

杜鵑草(ホトトギス) (hototogisu, “toad lily”)
杜鵑(ホトトギス)貝(ガイ) (hototogisugai)
時鳥(ほととぎす)と兄(きょう)弟(だい) (Hototogisu to Kyōdai)
時鳥(ホトトギス)草(ソウ) (hototogisusō)
ただ取(と)り山(やま)の時鳥(ほととぎす) (tada tori yama no hototogisu)
鳴(な)かぬなら鳴(な)くまで待(ま)とう時鳥(ほととぎす) (nakanunara naku made matō hototogisu)
目(め)には青(あお)葉(ば)山(やま)時鳥(ほととぎす)初(はつ)松魚(がつお) (me ni wa Aoba-yama hototogisu hatsugatsuo)
山(やま)ほととぎす (yama-hototogisu)

Proverbs

あの声(こえ)で蜥蜴(とかげ)くらうかほととぎす (ano koe de tokage kurau ka hototogisu)
鶯(うぐいす)の卵(かいご)の中(なか)のほととぎす (uguisu no kaigo no naka no hototogisu)
子(こ)で子(こ)にならぬほととぎす (ko de ko ni naranu hototogisu)

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of ほととぎす – see the following entry.

【杜鵑草】

[noun] toad lily (Tricyrtis hirta)

Alternative spellings
時鳥草, 油点草, ホトトギス

(This term, ほととぎす (hototogisu), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as ほととぎす, see Category:Japanese kanji read as ほととぎす.

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ Haruo Shirane (1998), Traces of Dreams: Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the Poetry of Bashō, illustrated edition, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 208

Old Japanese

Etymology

From ほととぎ (poto₂to₂gi₁, onomatopoeic imitation of the bird's cry) +‎ す (-su, suffix representing birds).

Noun

ほととぎす (poto₂to₂gi₁su)

lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus)
- c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 17, poem 3914:
  
  保登等芸須　今之来鳴者　餘呂豆代爾　可多理都具倍久　所念可母
  poto₂to₂gi₁su IMAsi KI₁NAKABA yo₂ro₂duyo₂ ni kataritugube₂ku OMOPOYUkamo
  If the cuckoo came and cried right now, I think it needs to go down throughout generations!
(poetic) allusion to 飛幡 (To₁bata, a placename)
- c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 12, poem 3165:
  , text here
  霍公鳥飛幡之浦爾敷浪乃屢君乎將見因毛鴨
  poto₂to₂gi₁su To₁bata-no₂-ura ni siku nami₁ no₂ sikusiku ki₁mi₁ wo mi₁mu yo₂si moga mo
  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Derived terms

醜ほととぎす (siko₂-poto₂to₂gi₁su, “ugly cuckoo”)
元ほととぎす (moto₂-poto₂to₂gi₁su, “cuckoo that came and sang last year”)
山ほととぎす (yama-poto₂to₂gi₁su, “mountain cuckoo”)

Descendants

Japanese: ほととぎす (hototogisu)

[KDJ-1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[3] Haruo Shirane (1998), Traces of Dreams: Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the Poetry of Bashō, illustrated edition, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 208

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