桂花

Chinese
Cinnamomum cassia; Guangxi Autonomous Region (abbrev.)
 
flower; blossom; to spend
flower; blossom; to spend; fancy pattern
trad. (桂花) 桂 花
simp. #(桂花) 桂 花

Etymology

Adaptation of 桂 (guì) to distinguish the osmanthus from the 肉桂 (ròuguì, “cassia; Chinese cinnamon”).

Pronunciation

Noun

桂花

  1. sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans)

Synonyms

Proper noun

桂花

  1. (～村) Guihua (a village in Zhonglu, Lichuan, Enshi prefecture, Hubei, China)

Japanese
Kanji in this term
桂 花
けい
Jinmeiyō		 か
Grade: 1
on’yomi
桂花

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [ke̞ːka̠]

Alternative forms
  • 桂華 (rare)

Etymology 1

*/kweːkwa/ → /keːkwa/ → /keːka/

From Middle Chinese compound 桂花 (kueiH xwæ, literally “cassia; osmanthus + flower”). Compare modern Min Nan reading kùi-hoe.

Noun

桂(けい)花(か) • (keika) ←けいくわ (keikwa)?

  1. sweet osmanthus
  2. the flowers of the sweet osmanthus
Usage notes

The term 桂花 is generally reserved for compounds. The tree and the flowers are usually distinguished within Japan between the white-blossoming 銀木犀 (ginmokusei, “silver osmanthus”) and the orange-blossoming 金木犀 (kinmokusei, “gold osmanthus”), with the latter being more popular.

Synonyms
Derived terms
Derived terms
  • 桂花茶(けいかちゃ) (keikacha): sweet osmanthus tea, a tea flavored with sweet osmanthus blossoms
  • 桂花醤(けいかしょう) (keikashō): sweet osmanthus sauce, a sweet sauce flavored with sweet osmanthus blossoms
  • 桂花陳酒(けいかちんしゅ) (keika chinshu): sweet osmanthus wine, an aged white wine flavored with sweet osmanthus blossoms

Etymology 2

From a Chinese legend that the phases of the moon were caused by kei trees (桂, general name for Lauraceae and other fragrant trees), which would bud, blossom, then drop their flowers and leaves again as if in accelerated seasons. Literally, “kei flower”, likening the phases of the moon to the budding and blooming of the trees.[1]

Noun

桂(けい)花(か) • (keika) ←けいくわ (keikwa)?

  1. (euphemistic) the moon

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