메주

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Jīlín lèishì (鷄林類事 / 계림유사), 1103, as Late Old Korean 密祖 (Yale: *micwo).

In the Hangul script, first attested in the Hunmong jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527, as Middle Korean 며주〮 (Yale: myècwú).

Related to Manchu ᠮᡳᠰᡠᠨ (misun, “thick sauce, paste”) and Japanese 味噌(みそ) (miso, “fermented soybean paste”); Alexander Vovin thinks both are from Korean.

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [me̞d͡ʑu]
Phonetic hangul: [메주]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	meju
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	meju
McCune–Reischauer^?	meju
Yale Romanization^?	meycwu

Noun

메주 • (meju)

(cooking) block of fermented beans, used to make doenjang