右腕

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
右	腕
みぎ Grade: 1	うで Grade: S
kun'yomi

Compound of 右 (migi, “right, right side”) +‎ 腕 (ude, “arm”). Also analyzeable as a contraction of older phrase 右の腕 (migi no ude), omitting the genitive particle の (no).^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

First cited in 1921.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) みぎうで [mìgíúdé] (Heiban – [0])^[3]^[5]^[4]
IPA^(key): [mʲiɡʲiɯ̟de̞]

Noun

右(みぎ)腕(うで) • (migiude)

[from 1921] right arm
Coordinate term: 左腕 (hidariude, “left arm”)
[from 1959] one's trusted subordinate (compare English right-hand man)

Usage notes

While monolingual Japanese dictionaries list counterpart 左腕 (sawan, “left arm; left-handedness”), for the on'yomi reading, they do not list counterpart 左腕 (hidariude) for the kun'yomi reading.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
右	腕
う Grade: 1	わん Grade: S
goon	on'yomi

Appears to be a coinage in Japanese based on Middle Chinese-derived roots, as a compound of 右 (u, “right, right side”) +‎ 腕 (wan, “arm”). Alternatively, may be a shift in reading from the kun'yomi of migiude; however, both readings are first cited to the same year, in 1921.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) うわん [úꜜwàǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])^[3]^[5]^[4]
IPA^(key): [ɯ̟β̞ã̠ɴ]

Noun

右(う)腕(わん) • (uwan)

[from 1921] right arm
[from 1920s] right-handedness
Coordinate term: 左腕 (sawan, “left arm; left-handedness”)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 “右腕”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 “右腕”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[KDJ2-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 “右腕”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[DDJS-2] 2.0 ^2.1 “右腕”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months

[DJR-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[SMK5-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-5] 5.0 ^5.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

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