Derogatory prefix used in compounds like 醜女 (しこめ, 'ugly woman'). Rare and old-fashioned; not productive in modern Japanese.
See also: 醜女 (しこめ)
unworthy; insignificant; humble
Humble self-reference prefix, often as しこの. Found in archaic expressions like 醜の御楯 (しこのみたて, 'unworthy shield'). Extremely rare.
See also: 醜の御楯
strong and frightening thing
Archaic noun. Also written as 鬼. Not used in modern Japanese outside historical or literary contexts.
The 醜 in 醜女 is an old prefix meaning 'ugly'.
In the old expression 醜の御楯, one humbly refers to oneself as しこの.
In classical Japanese, しこ can refer to something strong and frightening.
demoness of the underworld; hag of Yomi
Rare prefix; the kanji 醜 is the primary written form, but the word itself is uncommon.
Alternate kanji for the archaic noun sense meaning 'strong and frightening thing'.
The historical derivation is uncertain. The kanji 醜 is conventionally associated with ugliness, while 鬼 is associated with demons or frightening things.