🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)
ゐなぐ【女子】 : winagu | define meaning
winagu
Pronunciation: [(w)inaɡu]
Definition
Noun
Etymology
Cognate with Yoron ふなぐ funagu; Okinawan ゐなぐ winagu; and standard Japanese おなご【女子】 onago "girl, woman", historically をみなご wominago and later をんなご wonnago. Ultimately derived from をみな womina "woman" and the rendaku form of the diminutive suffix こ【子】 -ko.
Historical Ryukyuan attestations
- おもろさうし Omoro Saushi (1531-1623) records "おなこ" and "おな".
- Vocabulary of the language spoken at the Great Loo-Choo island in the Japan Sea (1818), by Herbert John Clifford, records "Woman. Innágo".
- Voyage of His Majesty's Ship Alceste: Along the Coast of Corea, to the Island of Lewchew, with an Account of Her Subsequent Shipwreck (1818), by John M'Leod, records "Woman. Inago".
- Essay in Aid of a Grammar and Dictionary of the Luchuan Language (1895), by Basil Hall Chamberlain, records "Wunna, a woman. (Jap. onna.)" and "Winagu, a woman: winagu-n'gwa, a girl; winagu nu uya, a mother. (Jap. onago.)".
Spelling
| Orthography | Form |
|---|---|
| Kanji | 女子 |
| Kana | ゐなぐ |
| Romanization | winagu |
| Pronunciation (IPA) | [(w)inaɡu] |
意味：おんな【女】、おなご【女子】
Categories:
女子
Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2025, September 15). ゐなぐ【女子】 : winagu | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2025, November 11, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/331/winagu/.