🌏 Region(s): Honshu (Standard)
さや【紗綾】 : saya | define meaning
saya
Pronunciation: /saja/
Definition
Noun
- (Textile) A type of silk fabric usually made with patterns woven into it. Sarsnet; sarcenet.
- とびさや・とびざや【飛紗綾】
tobisaya ~ tobizaya
"floral silk fabric" - なめさや・ぬめさや【滑紗綾】
namesaya ~ numesaya
"smooth silk fabric"
- とびさや・とびざや【飛紗綾】
Etymology
Borrowed from Portuguese saia "(long) skirt". The Kanji are considered Ateji and can be broken down into さ【紗】 sa "silk gauze" and あや【綾・文】 aya "design".
Historical attestations:
- An English and Japanese and Japanese and English Vocabulary (1830), by Walter Henry Medhurst, records "サヤ, Saya, Sarsnet" and "トビサヤ, Tobisaya, Flowered sarsnet".
- A Popular Catalogue of the Extraordinary Curiosities in the National Institute, Arranged in the Building Belonging to the Patent Office (1855), by the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, records "The Saya, a silk petticoat with vertical plaits [...]".
- Traité de l'éducation des vers à soie au Japon (1868), by Sira-kawa de Sendaï, records "Saya, さや, taffetas" and "Tobizaya, soie à fleurs".
- Japanese-English Dictionary (1881), by Johann Joseph Hoffmann and L. Serrurier, records "Saya, silk-stuffs with rectangular spiral lines".
Spelling
| Orthography | Form |
|---|---|
| Kanji | 紗綾 |
| Kana | さや |
| Romanization | saya |
| Pronunciation (IPA) | /saja/ |
意味：絹織物の一種
Categories:
紗綾
Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2024, March 23). さや【紗綾】 : saya | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2025, December 7, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/5710/saya/.