ぶらんこ

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Japanese

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Alternative spelling
鞦韆 (rare)
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ぶらんこ (buranko): a pair of swings, a swingset.

Etymology

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Almost certainly from mimetic adverb ぶらん (buran, hanging loosely) +‎ (-ko, nominalizer).[1][2] Compare がちんこ (gachinko, a serious (sumo) match), from adverb がちん (gachin, thuddingly) + (ko, nominalizer).

The oldest attestation listed in the Nihon Kokugo Daijiten is from 1867,[1] but the word apparently became common earlier in the Edo period.[3] This form appears to have superseded older ぶらここ (burakoko) in everyday use, first cited to 1685.[1]

Often mentioned as possibly from Portuguese balanço.[1][3][4][5] However, the /a//u/ vowel shift cannot be accounted for, nor can the difference between the /s/ in Portuguese versus the hard /k/ in Japanese. Considering also that the core adverbial root ぶら (bura) is attestable already in 1477 in the forms ぶらぶら (burabura) and ぶらり (burari),[6][7] and older root ふら (fura) in 1221 in the form ふらふら (furafura),[8] well before first contact with Portuguese speakers in 1542, any derivation directly from Portuguese is likely only a folk etymology.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ぶらんこ or ブランコ (buranko

  1. [from 1800s] a swing (hanging seat), a swingset
  2. [from 1894] (archaic) swinging, something that swings, particularly a hanged person

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 鞦韆”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. 3.0 3.1 ぶらんこ”, in 日本大百科全書:ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, Encyclopedia Nipponica)[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. ^ ぶらんこ”, in 世界大百科事典 第2版 (Sekai Dai-hyakka Jiten Dainihan, Heibonsha World Encyclopedia Second Edition)[3] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Heibonsha, 1998
  6. ^ ぶらぶら”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[4] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  7. ^ ぶらり”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[5] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  8. ^ ふらふら”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[6] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006