긴업

Korean

Etymology

Univerbation of 긴 (gin, “long”) +‎ 업(業) (eop, “spirit of wealth”). "Long" is euphemistic for "snake"; compare 긴 것 (gin geot, “snake”, literally “long thing”).

Pronunciation
  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ˈki(ː)nʌ̹p̚]
  • Phonetic hangul: [기(ː)넙]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?gineop
Revised Romanization (translit.)?gin'eob
McCune–Reischauer?kinŏp
Yale Romanization?kīn.ep

Noun

긴업 • (gineop)

  1. (folk religion, shamanism) auspicious rat snake; the household spirit of wealth, in the physical form of a rat snake
    Synonym: 업(業)구렁이 (eopgureong'i)
    우리 집에 긴업이 들었으니 경사스러운 일일세.
    Uri jib-e gineob-i deureosseuni gyeongsaseureoun ir-ilse.
    A lucky snake has come into our house, what an auspicious event!

Trivia
  • Traditionally, rat snakes are associated with wealth because they eat mice in the granary, who would otherwise eat the grain supplies.
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