牙婆すあい

Related words

• 仲なか買がい人にん

  Modern term for a broker or middleman, replacing the archaic 牙婆.

• 手て数すう料りょう

  Modern term for a handling fee or commission, replacing the archaic brokerage fee sense of 牙婆.

Written forms

• 牙婆
  • すわい

    Archaic kanji spelling for a historical broker or brokerage fee. The reading すわい is restricted to this form.

  • すあい
• 数す間あい

  Alternate archaic kanji spelling. The reading すあい is used with this form.

• 仲すあい

  Another archaic kanji spelling. The reading すあい is used with this form.

• すわい

Etymology

The exact derivation is uncertain. The kanji 牙 (tusk, fang) and 婆 (old woman) may have been used phonetically or as ateji for the reading すわい/すあい, which likely originated from a native Japanese word for mediation or fee.