고성

Korean

Etymology 1

Sino-Korean word from 高聲, from 高 (“high”) + 聲 (“sound”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ko̞sʰʌ̹ŋ]
• Phonetic hangul: [고성]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	goseong
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	goseong
McCune–Reischauer?	kosŏng
Yale Romanization?	koseng

Noun

고성 • (goseong) (hanja 高聲)

1. shouting, shout, yell

   이웃집 부부의 고성 때문에 잠을 설쳤다.

   Iutjip bubu-ui goseong ttaemun-e jam-eul seolcheotda.

   I slept poorly because of the shouting from the couple next door.

Usage notes

• Do not confuse with 고음(高音) (go'eum, “high-pitched voice”).

Derived terms

• 고성방가(高聲放歌) (goseongbangga)

Etymology 2

Sino-Korean word from 古城, from 古 (“ancient”) + 城 (“fortress”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈko̞(ː)sʰʌ̹ŋ]
• Phonetic hangul: [고(ː)성]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	goseong
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	goseong
McCune–Reischauer?	kosŏng
Yale Romanization?	kōseng

Noun

고성 • (goseong) (hanja 古城)

1. ancient or historical fortress

   중세 이집트의 술탄이 지은 고성을 들렀다.

   Jungse Ijipteu-ui sultan-i jieun goseong-eul deulleotda.

   I visited an old fortress built by a medieval Egyptian sultan.

Etymology 3

Sino-Korean word from 孤城, from 孤 (“lonely”) + 城 (“fortress”).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ko̞sʰʌ̹ŋ]
• Phonetic hangul: [고성]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	goseong
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	goseong
McCune–Reischauer?	kosŏng
Yale Romanization?	koseng

Noun

고성 • (goseong) (hanja 孤城)

1. unrelieved fortress; besieged fortress without hope of a relief force

Etymology 4

Sino-Korean word from 高城, from 高 (“high”) + 城 (“fortress”).

For the place name, coined by Korean monarch Gyeongdeok of Silla as part of the toponymic Sinicization reform of 757. This was an adaptation of the original place name 達忽, which presumably meant "high castle". Note Goguryeo 忽 (“castle, fortified place”). The county is currently split along the DMZ.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ko̞sʰʌ̹ŋ]
• Phonetic hangul: [고성]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	goseong
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	goseong
McCune–Reischauer?	kosŏng
Yale Romanization?	koseng

Noun

고성 • (goseong) (hanja 高城)

1. (literary) towering fortress

Proper noun

고성 • (Goseong) (hanja 高城)

1. Goseong (a county of Gangwon Province, South Korea)
2. Kosong (a county of Kangwon Province, North Korea)

Etymology 5

Coined by Korean monarch Gyeongdeok of Silla to replace the earlier place name 古自, modern Korean reading 고자 (Goja), with a more Sinitic form while keeping *ko for the first syllable.

Further etymology unclear. The place name *Kotsʌ is first given in the third-century Chinese source Records of the Three Kingdoms as Late Old Chinese 古資彌凍 (*kɑtsi-mietoŋ) where *mietoŋ appears to be a suffix. See Gaya language for more.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ˈko̞(ː)sʰʌ̹ŋ]
• Phonetic hangul: [고(ː)성]
  • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	goseong
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	goseong
McCune–Reischauer?	kosŏng
Yale Romanization?	kōseng

Proper noun

고성 • (Goseong) (hanja 固城)

1. Goseong (a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea)