無垢

Japanese

Kanji in this term

Grade: 4

Hyōgaiji
goon

Etymology

First cited in the early 800s.[1]

Probably from Middle Chinese 無垢 (MC mju kuwX, literally “without + dirt, stain”). Alternatively, may have been coined in Japan of Middle Chinese-derived components, as a compound of (mu, without) + (ku, dirt, stain).

Pronunciation

Adjective

()() • (muku) -na (adnominal ()() (muku na), adverbial ()() (muku ni))

  1. (Buddhism) spiritually pure, free from desire or aversion
  2. innocent, pure
  3. pure, unadulterated, free of foreign material or pollutants

Inflection

Noun

()() • (muku) 

  1. (Buddhism) spiritual purity, freedom from desire or aversion
  2. innocence, purity
  3. purity, freedom from foreign material or pollutants
  4. unpatterned cloth that is all the same color, particularly a kimono with the same color inside and out (most commonly used in the context of 白無垢 (shiromuku, white muku: formal white bridal kimono))

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
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.