돌팔이
Korean
Etymology
돌— (dol-, “to wander”) + 팔— (pal-, “to sell”) + 이 (-i, noun-deriving suffix).
The original sense is possibly archaic, and a folk etymology now claims that the first element is 돌 (dol, “stone”), with the idea that a charlatan is someone who sells stones pretending that they are something else.
Pronunciation
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ˈto̞(ː)ɭpʰa̠ɾi]
- Phonetic hangul: [돌(ː)파리]
- Though still prescriptive in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
| Romanizations | |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization? | dolpari |
| Revised Romanization (translit.)? | dolpal'i |
| McCune–Reischauer? | tolp'ari |
| Yale Romanization? | tōl.phal.i |
Noun
돌팔이 • (dolpari)
- (dated, possibly archaic) a wandering salesman
- a charlatan
- (military slang) a medical student drafted as an army physician, who is inexperienced and generally lacks medical expertise