Etymology 1
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年魚
香魚 |
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From Old Japanese of uncertain derivation.
- One commonly encountered etymology suggests that ayu may derive from 饗 (ae, “hosting someone to a meal”), in reference to the way that this fish may be used in Shinto offerings.[1] However, this would have been pronounced ape in ancient times, and while this ape did later become ahe, and a shift from -he to -ye did occur in many terms during the Muromachi period,[2] the word ayu in reference to the fish appeared in the Nihon Shoki (720 CE), and is thus too old for this shift to have occurred.
- Another common etymology states that ayu may be from extinct Old Japanese term 落ゆ (ayu, “to fall, as nuts from a tree; to flow down, as liquid in a stream”), in reference to the way that ayu swim downstream to spawn in the autumn.[1] Some references[3] suggest that this is not very eventful and that this etymology is therefore unlikely. However, there are terms specific to the ayu downstream migration, such as 落鮎 (ochiayu, “ayu migrating downstream to spawn”) and 鮎落つ (ayuotsu, “ayu migrating downstream to spawn”), suggesting that this event has been culturally important enough that the 落ゆ (ayu) derivation may be plausible.
- Alternatively, this term may be borrowed from Ainu アイ (ay, “arrow”) in reference to how fast the fish moves. See also obsolete Japanese reading ai below.
The kanji spelling 鮎 in reference to sweetfish is specific to Japan, probably in reference to the way the fish (魚) stakes out its territory (占). There is another tale wherein Empress Jingū caught an ayu and thereby prophesied (also spelled 占) the outcome of a battle, but this is likely a folk etymology. In China and elsewhere, the 鮎 character refers instead to catfish.[2]
The kanji spelling 年魚 is in reference to the common one-year lifespan of this fish.[2][4]
The kanji spelling 香魚 is in reference to its sweet-tasting flesh.[4]
Noun
鮎 or 鮎 • (ayu)
- ayu or sweetfish (Plecoglossus altivelis)
- 720, Nihon Shoki (poem 126/129)
- 美曳之弩能曳之弩能阿喩阿喩舉曾播施麻倍母曳岐愛俱流之衛奈疑能母縢制利能母縢阿例播俱流之衛 [Man'yōgana]
- み吉野の吉野の鮎鮎こそは島辺も良きえ苦しゑ水葱の本芹の本あれは苦しゑ [Modern spelling]
- mi-Eshino no Eshino no ayu ayu koso wa shimabe mo eki e kurushie nagi no moto seri no moto are wa kurushie
- (please add an English translation of this example)
- Synonyms: 香魚 (kōgyo), 年魚 (nengyo)
Usage notes
As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as アユ.
Derived terms
Derived terms
- 鮎掛 (ayukake): ayu catching: fishing for ayu with a hook and line
- 鮎寄 (ayuyose): alternate for 鮎豆腐 (ayu-dōfu); see below
- 鮎擬 (ayumodoki): Parabotia curtus (formerly Leptobotia curta) or kissing loach fish; a kind of dish made with tofu cut into long strips, sauteed in oil, then prepared with smartweed vinegar in a fashion similar to salt-roasted ayu
- 鮎汲 (ayu kumi): using a net on a pole to catch young ayu as they swim upstream in March or April
- 鮎祭 (ayu matsuri): a festival formerly held at Ise Shrine on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month
- 鮎刺 (ayusashi): alternate name for the 小鰺刺 (koajisashi, “little tern”)
- 鮎子 (ayuko): ayu fry; a term of endearment for an ayu fish
- 鮎鷹 (ayutaka): alternate name for 小鰺刺 (koajisashi, “little tern”)
- 鮎豆腐 (ayu-dōfu): ground ayu sandwiched between layers of strained tofu, placed on a wooden board, and steamed
- 鮎落つ (ayuotsu): ayu migrating downstream to spawn
- 鮎籠 (ayu kago): an ayu basket, made of bamboo with a narrow opening and bulging bottom, used in ancient times to trap ayu
- 鮎鮨 (ayuzushi): a kind of sushi prepared by salting or vinegaring a gutted and cleaned ayu fish, then presenting with its belly packed with rice; popular during the Edo period
- 落鮎 (ochiayu): ayu migrating downstream to spawn
Etymology 2
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Obsolete variant of ayu pronunciation. May have been the original pronunciation.
Etymology 3
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The kanji spelling 鮎 in reference to sweetfish is specific to Japan. In China and elsewhere, the 鮎 character refers instead to catfish.[2] See the 鯰 entry for more detail about the Japanese term namazu.
References
1988: あて字のおもしろ雑学 (Interesting Ateji Trivia, in Japanese), Freelance Trivia Writers, p.46, Nagaokashoten, Ltd.
