ぶらんこ

Japanese

Alternative spelling
鞦韆 (rare)

ぶらんこ (buranko): a pair of swings, a swingset.

Etymology

Almost certainly from mimetic adverb ぶらん (buran, “hanging loosely”) +‎ こ (-ko, nominalizer).[1][2] Compare がちんこ (gachinko, “a serious (sumo) match”), from adverb がちん (gachin, “thuddingly”) + こ (ko, nominalizer).

The oldest attestation listed in the Nihon Kokugo Daijiten is from 1867,[1] but the word apparently became common earlier in the Edo period.[3] This form appears to have superseded older ぶらここ (burakoko) in everyday use, first cited to 1685.[1]

Often mentioned as possibly from Portuguese balanço.[1][3][4][5] However, the /a/ → /u/ vowel shift cannot be accounted for, nor can the difference between the /s/ in Portuguese versus the hard /k/ in Japanese. Considering also that the core adverbial root ぶら (bura) is attestable already in 1477 in the forms ぶらぶら (burabura) and ぶらり (burari),[6][7] and older root ふら (fura) in 1221 in the form ふらふら (furafura),[8] well before first contact with Portuguese speakers in 1542, any derivation directly from Portuguese is likely only a folk etymology.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ぶらんこ [búꜜràǹkò] (Atamadaka – [1])[4]
(Tokyo) ぶらんこ [bùráꜜǹkò] (Nakadaka – [2])[4]
IPA^(key): [bɯ̟ᵝɾã̠ŋko̞]

Noun

ぶらんこ or ブランコ • (buranko)

[from 1800s] a swing (hanging seat), a swingset
[from 1894] (archaic) swinging, something that swings, particularly a hanged person

References

“鞦韆”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
“ぶらんこ”, in 日本大百科全書：ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, “Encyclopedia Nipponica”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
“ぶらんこ”, in 世界大百科事典第２版 (Sekai Dai-hyakka Jiten Dainihan, “Heibonsha World Encyclopedia Second Edition”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Heibonsha, 1998
“ぶらぶら”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
“ぶらり”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
“ふらふら”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN

[KDJ2-1] “鞦韆”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN

[DJS-2] 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[N-3] “ぶらんこ”, in 日本大百科全書：ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, “Encyclopedia Nipponica”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984

[DJR-4] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[SDHJ-5] “ぶらんこ”, in 世界大百科事典第２版 (Sekai Dai-hyakka Jiten Dainihan, “Heibonsha World Encyclopedia Second Edition”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Heibonsha, 1998

[6] “ぶらぶら”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN

[7] “ぶらり”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN

[8] “ふらふら”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN