女房詞

Japanese
Kanji in this term
女 房 詞
にょう
Grade: 1		 ぼう
Grade: S		 ことば
Grade: 6
kan’yōon goon kun’yomi
Alternative spelling
女房言葉

Etymology

Compound of 女房 (nyōbō, “lady in waiting”) +‎ 言葉 (kotoba, “word; language”)[1][2]

Both spellings, 女房詞 and 女房言葉, are in use. The 女房詞 spelling appears to be more common, and is listed as the main form in dictionaries.[1][2][3][4]

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) にょーぼーこ​とば [nyòóbóó kóꜜtòbà] (Nakadaka – [5])[2]
  • IPA(key): [ɲ̟o̞ːbo̞ː ko̞to̞ba̠]

Noun

女(にょう)房(ぼう)詞(ことば) • (nyōbō kotoba) ←にようばうことば (nyoubaukotoba)?

  1. a cant or secret language of ladies-in-waiting in the imperial court, arising during the Muromachi period and later spreading to the general population
  2. a word originally belonging to this cant
    「おしゃもじ」は元(もと)元(もと)「杓(しゃく)子(し)」の女(にょう)房(ぼう)詞(ことば)でした。
    “O-shamoji” wa motomoto “shakushi” no nyōbō kotoba deshita.
    "O-shamoji" was originally the woman's word for "shakushi" (rice scoop).

References
  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  4. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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