ぼら

Japanese

Alternative spellings
鰡鯔

Etymology

Unknown. Japanese dictionaries do not indicate when this term first appears in text.[1][2][3][4]

Monolingual sources speculate that this may be from some element ho ("fat") + 腹 (hara, “belly”),[5][6] but there is no solid evidence for any ho element with this meaning; the closest by sound is 頬 (ho, “cheek”, from ancient popo), and the closest by meaning is 太 (futo, “fatness”, from ancient puto).

The same fish name has suggestive overlap with Sahidic Coptic ⲃⲱⲣⲉ (bōre), Bohairic Coptic ⲫⲟⲣⲓ (phori) and ϥⲟⲣⲓ (fori), whence its modern Arabic name بُورِي‎ (būrī).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ぼら [bòrá] (Heiban – [0])[3][4]
IPA^(key): [bo̞ɾa̠]

Noun

ぼら or ボラ • (bora) ^{←ぼら (bora)^?}

flathead mullet, Mugil cephalus

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts.
This fish has different names depending on regional dialect and the size of the fish. See ボラ#別名 on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^ja for a fuller list (in Japanese).

References

1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
Entry at Gogen-Allguide (in Japanese)
Entry at Nihon Jiten (in Japanese)

[KDJ-1] 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

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

[DJR-3] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[SMK5-4] 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[5] Entry at Gogen-Allguide (in Japanese)

[6] Entry at Nihon Jiten (in Japanese)