蠟

蠟 (Kangxi radical 142, 虫+15, 21 strokes, cangjie input 中戈女女女 (LIVVV), four-corner 5211₆, composition ⿰虫巤)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1101, character 31
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 33786
• Dae Jaweon: page 1565, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2903, character 6
• Unihan data for U+881F
• Unihan data for U+F927

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *raːb) : semantic 虫 (“insect”) + phonetic 巤 (OC *rab).

Probably from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-krjap (“bug; ant; insect (lac); cochineal”); cognate with Burmese ချိပ် (hkyip, “lac”), Proto-Loloish *C-gripᴸ (“lac; pine”), Jingpho krep (“bedbug”), Proto-Kiranti *khrep (“bug; ant”) (Schuessler, 2007; STEDT).

However, this word is not attested until the 2nd to 3rd century (Ferlus, 2012b) (earliest attested in Comments of a Recluse (潛夫論) by Wang Fu (王符)). It may instead be a borrowing from Proto-Vietic *k-raːp (“wax”) (Ferlus, 2012; Jacques, 2016b).

蠟

1. wax

   • 知脂蠟之可明燈也，而不知其甚多則冥之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     知脂蜡之可明灯也，而不知其甚多则冥之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Wang Fu, Comments of a Recluse, c. 2^nd century CE

     Zhī zhīlà zhī kě míng dēng yě, ér bùzhī qí shènduō zé míng zhī. [Pinyin]

     [People] know that fat and wax can brighten lamps, but know not that too much shall dim them.

2. candle (Classifier: 根 m; 枝 m)
3. light yellow

Others:

• → Mongolian: лаа (laa, “candle”), лав (lav, “wax”)
• →? Proto-Vietic: *k-raːp (“wax”)
  • Vietnamese: sáp (“wax; candle”)
• → Zhuang: lab (“candle”)

(“Jinmeiyō” kanji used for names, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 蝋)

1. wax
2. candle
3. waxy
4. glazed

• Go-on: ろう (rō)^{←らふ (rafu, historical)}
• Kan-on: ろう (rō)^{←らふ (rafu, historical)}

From Middle Chinese 蠟 (MC lap).

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ɾa̠p̚] ~ [na̠p̚]
• Phonetic hangul: [랍/납]

Wikisource 蠟 (eumhun 밀 랍 (mil rap), South Korea 밀 납 (mil nap))

1. Hanja form^? of 랍/납 (“wax”).
2. Hanja form^? of 랍/납 (“candle”).

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

蠟: Hán Nôm readings: rệp, lạp, sáp

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

• Thiều Chửu : Hán Việt Tự Điển Hà Nội 1942
• Trần Văn Chánh: Từ Điển Hán Việt NXB Trẻ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999
• Vũ Văn Kính: Đại Tự Điển Chữ Nôm, NXB Văn Nghệ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999