토끼
Korean
Etymology
First attested in the Worin seokbo (月印釋譜 / 월인석보), 1459, as Middle Korean 톳〮기〮 (Yale: thwóskí).
Traditionally interpreted as Sino-Korean 兎 (to, “rabbit”) + unknown elements /-s-ki/, but seems more likely to be ultimately from Proto-Tungusic *tuksaki (“hare”).[1] The Sino-Korean etymology cannot give any clear source for the second syllable, while a very close match to the Tungusic is found in the dialectal Middle Korean form *투ᄭᅵ〮 (Yale: *thwùskí), attested in the place name 투ᄭᅵᆺ〮골〯 (Yale: Thwùskí-s-kwǒl, “rabbit valley”). The first syllable was probably then conflated with 兎 (thwo), leading to the modern form. Compare Oroqen tʊkʃakɪ (“rabbit”).
Pronunciation
토끼 (tokki)
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [tʰo̞k͈i]
- Phonetic hangul: [토끼]
| Romanizations | |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization? | tokki |
| Revised Romanization (translit.)? | to'kki |
| McCune–Reischauer? | t'okki |
| Yale Romanization? | tho.kki |
Noun
토끼 • (tokki) (counter 마리)
- hare, rabbit, bunny
Alternative forms
- 톳기 (totgi), 톡기 (tokgi) – obsolete spellings before standardization
Derived terms
- 멧토끼 (met'tokki, “wild hare”)
- 산토끼 (santokki, “wild hare”)
- 집토끼 (jiptokki, “house rabbit”)
- 토끼굴 (tokkigul, “rabbit burrow”)
- 토끼뜀 (tokkittwim, “jumping like a rabbit”)
- 토끼띠 (tokkitti, “born in the year of the rabbit”)
- 토끼몰이 (tokkimori, “to put up against the wall”, literally “cornering rabbits”)
- 토끼자리 (tokkijari, “Lepus constellation”)
- 토끼잠 (tokkijam, “shallow sleep”)
- 토끼장 (tokkijang, “rabbit hutch”)
- 토끼풀 (tokkipul, “clover”)
References
- Vovin, Alexander (2003), “Etymological Notes on Some Paleosiberian and Tungusic Loanwords in Korean”, in Proceedings of the Center for Korean Language and Culture, issue 5—6, St. Petersburg, Russia, pages 57—60