매미
Korean
Etymology
First attested in the Bullyu dugongbu si eonhae (分類杜工部詩諺解 / 분류두공부시언해), 1481, as Middle Korean ᄆᆡ〮야미〮 (Yale: móyyàmí).
Equivalent to 맴 (maem, onomatopoeia of cicada calling) + 이 (-i, noun-deriving suffix).
Pronunciation
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ˈmɛ(ː)mi] ~ [ˈme̞(ː)mi]
- Phonetic hangul: [매(ː)미/메(ː)미]
- Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
| Romanizations | |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization? | maemi |
| Revised Romanization (translit.)? | maemi |
| McCune–Reischauer? | maemi |
| Yale Romanization? | māymi |
Noun
매미 • (maemi)
- cicada (sound-making insect on trees)
- (prison jargon) prostitute
Synonyms
- 쓰르라미 (sseureurami)
Derived terms
(species of cicadas)
- 늦털매미 (neut'teolmaemi)
- 말매미 (malmaemi)
- 말매미 (malmaemi)
- 민민매미 (minminmaemi)
- 쓰름매미 (sseureummaemi)
- 애매미 (aemaemi)
- 유지매미 (yujimaemi)
- 저녁매미 (jeonyeongmaemi)
- 참깽깽매미 (chamkkaengkkaengmaemi)
- 참매미 (chammaemi)
- 털매미 (teolmaemi)
See also
- 귀뚜라미 (gwitturami): cricket
- 메뚜기 (mettugi): short-horned grasshopper, locust
- 베짱이 (bejjang'i): long-horned grasshopper