臈
year-end sacrifice, dried meat
Readings
On'yomi
- ロウ
Kun'yomi
—
Meaning
臈 centers on a ceremonial offering at the end of the year, specifically a sacrifice of dried meat. The two given meanings are tightly linked: the sacrifice is the event, and dried meat is the typical offering.
Most common words using 臈
- 上臈じょうろう
court lady; noblewoman
- 中臈ちゅうろう
court ladies of the middle rank serving in the inner palace (Heian period)
- 劫臈こうろう
long time; long years of service
- 劫臈を経るこうろうをへる
to become skilled through years of experience
- 奥上臈おくじょうろう
maid working in the domestic quarters of a shogun or daimyo (Edo period)
- 臈ろう
year in the Buddhist order (after the completion of the first meditation retreat)
- 臈たけるろうたける
to be elegant (usu. of a woman); to be graceful; to be refined
Study
Etymology
臈 combines ⺼ (flesh/meat) with 葛, which likely contributes the sound ロウ. The character is associated with a year-end sacrifice involving dried meat, but the detailed historical development is uncertain.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side ⺼ is flesh or meat, and the right side 葛 looks like a bundle of dried plants. Picture a bundle of dried meat prepared as an offering at the end of the year.
Reading mnemonic
For ロウ, imagine a low table laden with dried meat for the year-end sacrifice: low -> ロウ, and the offering is placed low before the altar.