🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa, Miyako: Ikema, Tarama)
じゃん : jan | define meaning
jan
Pronunciation: [d͡ʑaŋ̍]
Definition
Noun
- Dugong (sp. Dugong dugon)
- Mermaid
Etymology
Cognate with Kunigami (Oku) だん dan; Okinawa, Miyako (Ikema) and Tarama じゃん jan; Okinawa (Kudaka, Shuri, Uruma), Miyako (Hisamatsu) and Yaeyama (Hateruma, Hatoma, Kuroshima, Miyara, Kabira) ざん zan; Yaeyama (Aragusuku) ざぬ zanu; Yaeyama (Iriomote: Komi) and Yonaguni (Sonai) ざの zano; and Yonaguni (Sonai) ざーの zaano "dugong; mermaid". Possibly cognate with standard Japanese ぞう【象】 zou "elephant" (< Middle Chinese *zjangX).
Historical attestations
- Kenkyusha's New School Dictionary: (English-Japanese) (1890), published by Kenkyusha, records the form ざんのいを zan no iwo in the entry "Dugong 名《動》儒艮(じゅごん)、ざんのいを。【マライ語】".
Spelling
Orthography | Form |
---|---|
Kana | じゃん |
Romanization | jan |
Pronunciation (IPA) | [d͡ʑaŋ̍] |
意味:じゅごん・ジュゴン【儒艮・儒良】