荔枝
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
Unknown. First attested as 離支 in the “Rhapsody on the Shanglin Park” (上林賦) by Sima Xiangru of the West Han dynasty. During the time of Emperor Wu of Han, lychee was one of the exotic plants cultivated in the grand imperial Shanglin Park, introduced from China's south.
Traditionally, 荔 has been interpreted as equivalent to 劙 (“to sever; to partition”), based on an excerpt from Funan-ji (扶南記), a now-lost text cited in other works, such as the Taiping Guangji (太平廣記):
- 荔枝為名者，以其結實時，枝條弱而蒂牢，不可摘取，以刀斧劙取其枝，故以為名。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
- From: Taiping Guangji (Extensive Records of the Taiping Era), 978 CE
- Lìzhī wéi míng zhě, yǐ qí jiéshí shí, zhītiáo ruò ér dì láo, bùkě zhāiqǔ, yǐ dāofǔ lí qǔ qí zhī, gù yǐ wéi míng. [Pinyin]
- That which bears the name lizhi, when it bears fruits, the small branches are weak but the stem is firm, so it cannot be picked by hand and must be severed with a knife or axe, hence its name.
荔枝为名者，以其结实时，枝条弱而蒂牢，不可摘取，以刀斧劙取其枝，故以为名。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
The Compendium of Materia Medica, citing the “Preface to Lychee Painting” (荔枝圖序) by Bai Juyi, interprets 離支 orthographically:
- 白居易云：若離本枝，一日色變，三日味變。則離支之名，又或取此義也。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
- From: The Compendium of Materia Medica [Bencao Gangmu], by Li Shizhen, 1578 CE
- Bái Jūyì yún: ruò lí běn zhī, yī rì sè biàn, sān rì wèi biàn. Zé lìzhī zhī míng, yòu huò qǔ cǐ yì yě. [Pinyin]
- Bai Juyi said, “If it [lychee] was removed from the branch, its colour will change in a day, its taste in three days.” So the name lizhi [lit. “removed from branch”] may be chosen for this meaning.
白居易云：若离本枝，一日色变，三日味变。则离支之名，又或取此义也。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
Recent studies have discounted the above as folk etymologies, proposing instead that it is a disyllabic borrowing from a Kra-Dai language during the Late Old Chinese period; compare modern Zhuang laehcei, Tai Nüa ᥛᥣᥐᥱᥐᥣᥭᥱ (mǎakkǎay), Hlai coeis (Wei, 2000; Ban and Su, 2017). The precise shape of the source word is now obscure, and there are two possibilities that can explain the disyllabicity of the borrowing (Ban and Su, 2017):
- That the first syllable transcribed a Kra-Dai class noun (perhaps “fruit”), and the second syllable, 枝 (OC *kje), corresponded to the Tai-Kadai name for “lychee”; or
- That the Kra-Dai source word for “lychee” was disyllabic and already not easily analysable.
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard)
- (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): ni4 zi1
- Cantonese
- (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): lai6 zi1
- (Taishan, Wiktionary): lai5 zi1*
- Gan (Wiktionary): 'li5 zi1
- Hakka
- Jin (Wiktionary): lieh4 zi1
- Northern Min (KCR): lāi-cí
- Eastern Min (BUC): lié-ciĕ
- Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): noe2 zi1 / nui2 zi1
- Southern Min
- Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): 8liq-tsy
- Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): li4 zhr1
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄌㄧˋ ㄓ → ㄌㄧˋ ˙ㄓ (toneless final syllable variant)
- Tongyong Pinyin: lìjhi̊h
- Wade–Giles: li4-chih5
- Yale: lì-jr
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: lih.jy
- Palladius: личжи (ličži)
- Sinological IPA (key): /li⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/ → /li⁵¹ ɖ͡ʐ̥ʐ̩¹/
- (Chengdu)
- Sichuanese Pinyin: ni4 zi1
- Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: liz
- Sinological IPA (key): /ni²¹³ t͡sz̩⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: lai6 zi1
- Yale: laih jī
- Cantonese Pinyin: lai6 dzi1
- Guangdong Romanization: lei6 ji1
- Sinological IPA (key): /lɐi̯²² t͡siː⁵⁵/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
- Wiktionary: lai5 zi1*
- Sinological IPA (key): /lai³² t͡si³³⁻³³⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Gan
- (Nanchang)
- Wiktionary: 'li5 zi1
- Sinological IPA (key): /ˈli¹¹ t͡sz̩⁴²/
- (Nanchang)
- Hakka
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: lí-chṳ̂
- Hakka Romanization System: liˋ ziiˊ
- Hagfa Pinyim: li3 zi1
- Sinological IPA: /li³¹ t͡sɨ²⁴/
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: li-chṳ̂
- Hakka Romanization System: li ziiˊ
- Hagfa Pinyim: li4 zi1
- Sinological IPA: /li⁵⁵ t͡sɨ²⁴/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
- Hakka Romanization System: liˊ zhiˋ
- Sinological IPA: /li²⁴⁻³³ t͡ʃi⁵³/
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
- Jin
- (Taiyuan)+
- Wiktionary: lieh4 zi1
- Sinological IPA (old-style): /liəʔ²⁻⁵⁴ t͡sz̩¹¹/
- (Taiyuan)+
- Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
- Kienning Colloquial Romanized: lāi-cí
- Sinological IPA (key): /lai⁵⁵ t͡si⁵⁴/
- (Jian'ou)
- Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
- Bàng-uâ-cê: lié-ciĕ
- Sinological IPA (key): /l̃ie²¹³⁻⁵⁵ (t͡s-)ʒie⁵⁵/
- (Fuzhou)
- Puxian Min
- (Putian)
- Pouseng Ping'ing: noe2 zi1 [Phonetic: noe5 li1]
- Sinological IPA (key): /nø¹³⁻²¹ (t͡s-)li⁵³³/
- (Xianyou)
- Pouseng Ping'ing: nui2 zi1 [Phonetic: nui5 ni1]
- Sinological IPA (key): /nui¹³⁻²¹ (t͡s-)ni⁵³³/
- (Putian)
Note: originally 蓮枝.
- Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Taipei, Sanxia, Kinmen, Hsinchu, Taichung, Singapore)
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung, Taipei, Tainan, Magong, Penang, Singapore)
- (Hokkien: Lukang)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: nǎi-chi
- Tâi-lô: nǎi-tsi
- IPA (Lukang): /nãi³³⁻²² t͡si³³/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: nūi-chi
- Tâi-lô: nuī-tsi
- Phofsit Daibuun: nuixcy
- IPA (Quanzhou): /nuĩ⁴¹⁻²² t͡si³³/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Yilan)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lē-chi
- Tâi-lô: lē-tsi
- Phofsit Daibuun: lexcy
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /le²²⁻²¹ t͡si⁴⁴/
- IPA (Yilan): /le³³⁻²¹ t͡si⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lēe-chi
- Tâi-lô: lēe-tsi
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /lɛ²²⁻²¹ t͡si⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Philippines)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: liān-chi
- Tâi-lô: liān-tsi
- Phofsit Daibuun: liexncy
- IPA (Xiamen): /liɛn²²⁻²¹ t͡si⁴⁴/
- IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Philippines): /liɛn⁴¹⁻²² t͡si³³/
Note: liān-chi - often written as 蓮枝.
- Middle Chinese: ljeH tsye
Noun
荔枝
Synonyms
Hypernyms
- 水果 (shuǐguǒ)
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Descendants
Others:
Descendants
- → Assamese: লিচু (lisu), লেচু (lesu)
- → Burmese: လိုက်ချီး (luikhkyi:)
- → Czech: liči
- → Danish: litchi
- → English: lychee, litchi
- → Finnish: litsi
- → French: letchi, litchi
- → German: Litschi
- → Hungarian: licsi
- → Hindi: लीची (līcī)
- → Indonesian: leci
- → Italian: litchi
- → Japanese: ライチ (raichi)
- → Korean: 리치 (richi)
- → Lao: ໝາກລິ້ນຈີ່ (māk lin chī)
- → Malay: laici
- → Spanish: lichi
- → Polish: liczi
- → Portuguese: lichia
- → Russian: ли́чи (líči)
- → Thai: ลิ้นจี่ (lín-jìi)
References
- 莆田市政协文化文史和学习委员会 [Culture, History and Learning Committee of Putian CPPCC], editor (2021), “莲枝”, in 莆仙方言大词典 (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 397.
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