鋸草

Japanese

Kanji in this term
鋸	草
のこぎり Jinmeiyō	そう Grade: 1
yutōyomi

ノコギリソウ, Achillea alpina

Etymology

Literally, “saw grass”, 鋸(のこぎり) (nokogiri, “saw”) + 草(そう) (sō, “grass”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [no̞ko̞ɡʲiɾʲiso̞ː]

Noun

鋸(のこぎり)草(そう) or 鋸草(ノコギリソウ) • (nokogirisō) 

1. Siberian yarrow, Achillea alpina

   Synonyms: 鋸花 (nokogiribana), 羽衣草 (hagoromosō), 羽衣 (hagoromo)

2. yarrow, achilleas, various plants in the genus Achillea
   • 2002 July 24, “‘Hana katari’ nogirisō Girishia shinwa ni mei no yurai [‘Flower talk’: derivation of yarrow name from Greek myth]”, in Mainichi Shimbun, Aichi regional edition, page 16:

     ノコギリソウの別(べつ)名(めい)はアキレア。ギリシャ神(しん)話(わ)の英(えい)雄(ゆう)アキレスが、この植(しょく)物(ぶつ)に傷(きず)を治(なお)す力(ちから)があることを知(し)る。そんな伝(でん)説(せつ)が名(めい)の由(ゆ)来(らい)だ。

     Nokogirisō no betsumei wa akirea. Girisha shinwa no eiyū Akiresu ga, kono shokubutsu ni kizu o naosu chikara ga aru koto o shiru. sonna densetsu ga mei no yurai da.

     Nokogirisō is also known as achillea. In Greek myth, the hero Achilles knew how to use this plant to heal wounds. The name of the plant comes from this legend.

Usage notes

• As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary).

Derived terms

• 西洋鋸草(セイヨウノコギリソウ) (seiyō nokogirisō, “common yarrow, Achillea millefolium”)