粟
ぞ
く
Meanings
1
obsolete term
Obsolete term for millet or grain. In modern Japanese, 粟 is normally read あわ. This reading ぞく is found only in old texts.
See also: 粟 (あわ)
In old documents, 粟 is sometimes read as ぞく.
2
stipend in rice
archaic
Archaic term for a stipend paid in rice, used in historical contexts such as samurai stipends.
In the Edo period, samurai were given rice as a stipend called ぞく.
3
10,000th of a shaku
A very small unit of length, one ten-thousandth of a 尺 (shaku). This is a technical historical measurement term.
See also: 尺 (しゃく)
One ten-thousandth of a shaku was called ぞく.
Expressions
- 滄海の一粟drop in the bucket; drop in the ocean; a tiny fraction of the whole