서울
Jeju
Alternative forms
- (Seogwipo) 서월 (seowol)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [səuɭ]
References
- “서울” in Jeju's culture and language, Digital museum.
Korean
Etymology
First attested in the generic "capital" sense in the Samguk yusa (三國遺事 / 삼국유사), 1281:
- 國號徐羅伐又徐伐，今俗訓「京」字云徐伐，以此故也。 [Korean Literary Sinitic, trad.]
- 국호서라벌우서벌이니 금속훈경자운서벌은 이차고야라 [Sino-Korean]
- The name of the [capital of the] kingdom [of Silla, the ancient kingdom which unified the Korean peninsula in the late 600s] was Syelapel or Syepel. This is why, [even] today, the Korean word for the character 京 (gyeong, “capital city”) is syepel.
The modern sense of "Seoul" is simply because Seoul was the capital of Korea from 1394 onwards.
In the Hangul script, first attested in the Yongbi eocheon'ga (龍飛御天歌 / 용비어천가), 1447, as Middle Korean 셔〯ᄫᅳᆯ (Yale: syěWùl).
Also attested in the Bullyu dugongbu si eonhae (分類杜工部詩諺解 / 분류두공부시언해), 1481, as Middle Korean 셔〯욿 (Yale: syěwùlh).
| Etymological details |
|---|
|
As mentioned in the Samguk yusa, the sense of "capital" is most likely a generalization of the Old Korean place name referring specifically to the capital of Silla, the ancient state which unified Korea. This place name was transcribed using various Chinese characters, most often 徐羅伐 (Middle Korean Syelapel, modern Seorabeol). This appears to be a compound of:
Hence the word may originally have meant "the town of the Silla". |
Pronunciation
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [sʰʌ̹uɭ]
(file)
- Phonetic hangul: [서울]
| Romanizations | |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization? | Seoul |
| Revised Romanization (translit.)? | Seoul |
| McCune–Reischauer? | Sŏul |
| Yale Romanization? | sewul |
Noun
서울 • (seoul)