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蝟集 (いしゅう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb
swarm ; throng ; flock together
Describes a large number of people, animals, or things gathering in one place, often with a sense of disorder or density. Strongly literary and formal; in everyday speech, 群がる (むらがる) or 集まる (あつまる) are more common.
の
夜よる
、
街がい
灯とう
に
虫むし
が
蝟い
集しゅう
する
。
On summer nights, insects swarm around the streetlights.
Kanji 集 gather, meet, congregate Similar words 群むら がる Common everyday verb for 'to swarm' or 'to crowd around'. 蝟集 is its formal, literary counterpart.
集あつ まる Neutral verb for 'to gather'. 蝟集 implies a denser, more chaotic gathering.
Etymology Compound of 蝟 (i, 'hedgehog') and 集 (shū, 'gather'), literally 'gathering like hedgehogs'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word is a Sino-Japanese coinage used in formal writing.