Etymology 1
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Unknown. Japanese dictionaries do not indicate when this term first appears in text.[1][2][3][4]
Monolingual sources speculate that this may be from some element ho ("fat") + 腹 (hara, “belly”),[5][6] but there is no solid evidence for any ho element with this meaning; the closest by sound is 頬 (ho, “cheek”, from ancient popo), and the closest by meaning is 太 (futo, “fatness”, from ancient puto).
The same fish name has suggestive overlap with Sahidic Coptic ⲃⲱⲣⲉ (bōre), Bohairic Coptic ⲫⲟⲣⲓ (phori) and ϥⲟⲣⲓ (fori), whence its modern Arabic name بُورِي (būrī).
Etymology 2
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Etymology 3
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Etymology 4
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Usage notes
The fish Mugil cephalus is variously called ボラ, トド, イナ or ナヨシ. The former term is most general, or sometimes refers specifically to specimens of about 30 to 40 cm in total length.[7] The term イナ sometimes refers specifically to young specimens under 20 cm in length,[7][1] as does the archaic ナヨシ, though イナ can also refer to the species generally.[8] The form トド refers to the largest specimens, usually over 50 cm.[7][1] Mullet less than 10 cm are sometimes called スバシリ (subashiri) or オボコ (oboko).[7]
References
Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
2001, プログレッシブ和英中辞典 (Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan