ロウリュ

ロウリュ

Japanese

Etymology

Borrowed from Finnish löyly (“steam of a sauna”).[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɾo̞ːɾʲɨᵝ]

Noun

ロウリュ • (rōryu) 

1. (uncommon) wet sauna, steam sauna (sauna bathing in which water is heated to generate steam)
   • 2015, Sauna no kyōkasho [Sauna textbook], Gakken Publishing, Taiko no yū, page 58:

     約(やく )35人(にん)を収(しゅう)容(よう)できる「ロウリュサウナ」では、スタッフによるロウリュを実(じっ)施(し)。

     Yaku 35-nin o shūyō dekiru “rōryu sauna” de wa, sutaffu ni yoru rōryu o jisshi.

     In the “löyly sauna”, which can accommodate about 35 people, the staff handles the steam.

2. (uncommon) water sprinkled over sauna stones to produce steam
   • 1992, Numajiri Ryō, Sauna o tsukurō [Build a sauna], page 60:

     なぜロウリュを投(な)げるかというと、その最(さい)大(だい)の目(もく)的(てき)は入(にゅう)浴(よく)者(しゃ)がサウナで快(かい)適(てき)に過(す)ごせることにあります。蒸(じょう)気(き)により呼(こ)吸(きゅう)が楽(らく)になり、サウナの内(ない)部(ぶ)に長(ちょう)時(じ)間(かん)いても苦(くる)しくなりません。

     Naze rōryu o nageru ka to iu to, sono saidai no mokuteki wa nyūyokusha ga sauna de kaiteki ni sugoseru koto ni arimasu. Jōki ni yori kokyū ga raku ni nari, sauna no naibu ni chōjikan ite mo kurushiku narimasen.

     The reason we cast löyly is mainly to make the bather more comfortable in the sauna. The steam makes breathing easier, so one may stay inside the sauna for a long time without discomfort.

See also

• サウナ (sauna, “sauna”)
• バニャ (banya, “(Russian-style) steam bath”)
• ハンマーム (hanmāmu, “Turkish bath”)

References

1. “ロウリュ”, in デジタル大辞泉 (Dejitaru Daijisen)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months