暗闇

暗闇

See also: 暗暗

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
暗	闇
くら Grade: 3	やみ Grade: S
kun’yomi

Compound of 暗 (kura, “dark”, combining form used in compounds, stem of adjective 暗い (kurai, “dark”)) +‎ 闇 (yami, “darkness, absence of light; night”, noun, derived from verb 止む (yamu, “cease, halt, stop”)).[1][2]

First cited to around 1007.[1]

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) くらやみ [kùráyámí] (Heiban – [0])[2][3][4]
• IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ᵝɾa̠ja̠mʲi]

Noun

暗(くら)闇(やみ) • (kurayami) 

1. [circa 1007] darkness, the dark, complete absence of light; a dark place

   Synonyms: 暗がり (kuragari), 暗黒 (ankoku)

2. [early 1200s] (figuratively) public chaos, disorder in the world
   • prior to 1330, The Tale of the Heike, book 2:

     天(てん)下(か)くらやみと成(な)ったりしに

     tenka kurayami to nattarishi ni

     the world had fallen into darkness / disorder

3. an unknown or hidden place
4. [1862] (figuratively) jail, prison
5. [1911] (figuratively) psychological depression

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
暗	闇
くれ Grade: 3	やみ Grade: S
kun’yomi

Compound of 暗 (kure, “darkening”, stem of verb 暗れる (kureru, “to darken, to become dark”)) +‎ 闇 (yami, “darkness, absence of light; night”, noun, derived from verb 止む (yamu, “cease, halt, stop”)).[1]

First cited to roughly 1014.[1]

May be obsolete. Not listed in various dictionaries.[2][3][4][5]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ᵝɾe̞ja̠mʲi]

Noun

暗(くれ)闇(やみ) • (kureyami) 

1. [circa 1014] (figuratively, possibly obsolete) psychological distress, the state of being at a loss

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. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
4. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
5. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN