こし

こし

See also: こじ, ごし, and ごじ

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spelling
腰

From Old Japanese. First appears in the Kojiki of 712 CE.[1] In turn from Proto-Japonic *kəsi.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) こし [kòshí] (Heiban – [0])[2][3]
• IPA^(key): [ko̞ɕi]

Noun

こし or コシ • (koshi) 

1. the waist, the (lower) back, the small of the back
2. (anatomy) the hip

   Synonym: ヒップ (hippu)

3. the skirting of a shoji
4. the third line of a waka or tanka poem (from the way that the next two lines are longer, similar to the way the body gets wider at the hips)
5. (of food) chewiness; springiness

   コシのある蕎(そ)麦(ば)

   koshi no aru soba

   springy soba

Derived terms

• 腰(こし)掛(か)ける (koshikakeru, “to sit down”)

See also

• 胴(どう)のくびれ (dō no kubire)
• 腰(よう)部(ぶ) (yōbu)
• 胴(どう)回(まわ)り (dōmawari)

Etymology 2

Alternative spelling
輿

輿 (koshi): a palanquin used by an imperial reenactor during a matsuri.

First cited to The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter in the late-800s, early 900s.[1] Further derivation uncertain. May be the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 越す (kosu, “to move something from one place to another”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) こ​し [kóꜜshì] (Atamadaka – [1])[2][3]
• IPA^(key): [ko̞ɕi]

Noun

こし • (koshi) 

1. palanquin, litter

Etymology 3

Alternative spelling
層

From Old Japanese. Cited in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.[1]

Theorized to be an extension of the hip sense from the way that upper storeys in older Japanese architecture were usually smaller, resulting in a hipped effect similar to the way that the waist may be narrower than the hips on a person's body.[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ko̞ɕi]

Noun

こし • (koshi) 

1. (rare, possibly obsolete, architecture) a storey

Usage notes

This reading has fallen out of use and been replaced by the Middle Chinese-derived sō reading. See the 層 entry for more.

Etymology 4

Alternative spelling
濃し

Adjective

こし • (koshi) ^†-ku

1. classical terminal form of modern adjective 濃い (koi, “thick in consistency; deep in color; rich in flavor”)

Etymology 5

For pronunciation and definitions of こし – see 古史, 古址, 古祠, 古詩, 虎子, 虎視, 古紙, 枯死, 雇使, 顧思, 顧視. (This term, こし, is an alternative spelling of the above Sino-Japanese terms.)

(The following entries are uncreated: 古史, 古址, 古祠, 古詩, 虎子, 虎視, 古紙, 枯死, 雇使, 顧思, 顧視.)

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. 2011, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Seventh Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN