긴업
Korean
Etymology
Univerbation of 긴 (gin, “long”) + 업(業) (eop, “spirit of wealth”). "Long" is euphemistic for "snake"; compare 긴 것 (gin geot, “snake”, literally “long thing”).
Pronunciation
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ˈki(ː)nʌ̹p̚]
- Phonetic hangul: [기(ː)넙]
- Though still prescriptive in Standard Korean, the great majority of speakers (in both Koreas) no longer distinguish vowel length.
Romanizations | |
---|---|
Revised Romanization? | gineop |
Revised Romanization (translit.)? | gin'eob |
McCune–Reischauer? | kinŏp |
Yale Romanization? | kīn.ep |
Noun
긴업 • (gineop)
- (folk religion, shamanism) auspicious rat snake; the household spirit of wealth, in the physical form of a rat snake
- Synonym: 업(業)구렁이 (eopgureong'i)
- 우리 집에 긴업이 들었으니 경사스러운 일일세.
- Uri jib-e gineob-i deureosseuni gyeongsaseureoun ir-ilse.
- A lucky snake has come into our house, what an auspicious event!
Trivia
- Traditionally, rat snakes are associated with wealth because they eat mice in the granary, who would otherwise eat the grain supplies.