やぎ

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spelling
柳

From Old Japanese. First attested in the Man'yōshū of 759.^[1]

Ultimate derivation unclear. Theories include:

• Shorter form of やなぎ (yanagi, “willow”), omitting the medial な (na).^[1][2]
• From Middle Chinese 楊 (MC yang) + 木 (ki, “tree”).^[1]
• From Middle Chinese 楊 (MC yang) + い (i, possible epenthesis; see also development of 銭 (zeni) from older sen), with resultant /jiaŋi/ realizing in Japanese phonology as yagi.^[1][2]

Generally only found in compounds.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ja̠ɡʲi]

• Pitch accent depends on the compound word

Noun

やぎ • (yagi) 

1. [from 759] willow tree

Further reading

• Entry at Nihon Jiten (in Japanese)

Etymology 2

Alternative spellings
山羊 野羊 (less common)

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

ヤギ

Wikipedia ^ja

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Goat

Wikipedia

山羊・野羊 (yagi): a goat.

Ultimate derivation unclear. Theories include:

• Shift from 野牛 (yagyū, “wild cattle”), from a vague resemblance between the two creatures.
• From Middle Chinese 羊 (MC yang) + い (i, possible epenthesis; see also development of 銭 (zeni) from older sen), with resultant /jiaŋi/ realizing in Japanese phonology as yagi.

Might only be attested in Japanese since 1523.^[3]

The kanji spellings, either 山 (“mountain”) + 羊 (“sheep”) or 野 (“field; wild”) + 羊 (“sheep”), are examples of jukujikun (熟字訓).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) やぎ [yáꜜgì] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2][4]
• IPA^(key): [ja̠ɡʲi]

Noun

やぎ or ヤギ • (yagi) 

1. [from 1523?] a goat (animal)
   • 2000 April 20, “深(ふか)き森(もり)の長老(ちょうろう) (fukaki mori no chōrō)”, in Magic Ruler －魔法の支配者－, Konami:

     昔(むかし)から森(もり)に住(す)んでいる白(しろ)ヤギ。真(しん)の姿(すがた)は森(もり)の長(ちょう)老(ろう)。

     Mukashi kara mori ni sundeiru shiroyagi. Shin no sugata wa Mori no Chōrō.

     A white goat who has dwelt in the woods since ancient times. Its true visage is as an Elder of the Woods.

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 ヤギ.

Further reading

• Entry at Nihon Jiten (in Japanese)

Etymology 3

The reading of various names.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) やぎ [yàgí] (Heiban – [0])^[5]
• IPA^(key): [ja̠ɡʲi]

Definitions

For pronunciation and definitions of やぎ – see the following entries.

【八木】 [proper noun] a surname

【屋宜】 [proper noun] a surname

(This term, やぎ (yagi), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as やぎ, see Category:Japanese kanji read as やぎ.)

(The following entries are uncreated: 矢木, 八記, 八樹, 矢儀, 八代, 野寄, 矢樹, 屋木, 柳吉, 矢城, 八鬼, 谷木, 八城, 矢来, 箭木.)

References

1. “柳”, in 日本国語大辞典‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. “山羊・野羊”, in 日本国語大辞典‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
4. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
5. “2002043185c5Zk53lv91”, in 日本国語大辞典‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here