noun
A pointed piece of wood or metal driven into the ground for support, marking, or construction. Common in fencing, foundations, and surveying.
庭の境界に杭を打った。
We drove stakes along the garden boundary.
工事現場にはたくさんの杭が並んでいる。
Many piles are lined up at the construction site.
noun
Only when written 株
Archaic abbreviation of 株 (くいぜ). Refers to a tree stump. In modern Japanese, 切り株 or 株 (かぶ) is used instead.
See also: 株 (くいぜ)
古い文献では、切り株を「くい」と記すことがある。
In old documents, a tree stump is sometimes written as くい.
The kanji 杭 is a phono-semantic compound with 木 (tree/wood) and 亢 (high/raise), originally referring to a wooden stake or post. The reading くい is native Japanese. The archaic stump sense is an abbreviation of くいぜ (株).