白しろ妙たえ

also: しらたえ

し

ろ

た

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Meanings

Refers specifically to cloth made from the fibers of the paper mulberry (楮) tree, historically used for clothing. Now a literary or historical term.

万まん葉よう集しゅうには白しろ妙たえの衣ころもを詠よんだ歌うたがある。
In the Man'yōshū, there are poems that sing of robes of white cloth.

noun

pure white; snow-white

Used as a poetic epithet (makurakotoba) for things associated with whiteness, such as snow, clouds, or sleeves. Not used in everyday conversation.

白しろ妙たえの雪ゆきが静しずかに降ふり積つもる。
The pure white snow falls and piles up quietly.

See all 4 example sentences ›

Kanji

白white
妙exquisite, strange, queer
栲sumac, cloth woven from tree fibres

Related words

白しろ
白 is the general word for 'white' in modern Japanese, while 白妙 is a poetic or historical term for white cloth or pure whiteness.

Word family

シロタエギク
dusty miller; silver ragwort

Written forms

白妙Usage50%
- しろたえ
  Standard kanji form; the reading しろたえ is the most common modern pronunciation.
- しらたえ
シロタエUsage36%
しろたえUsage14%
Kana spelling is sometimes used, especially in poetic or literary contexts.
白栲
- しろたえ
  Alternate kanji form using 栲, which originally referred to a type of tree whose bark was used to make cloth. Rare in modern usage.
- しらたえ
しらたえ
Older reading variant, now largely replaced by しろたえ. Still encountered in classical poetry.

Etymology

The older form is 白栲・白妙, historically しらたえ, from 白 “white” and 栲 “cloth made from plant fiber”; 妙 is a substitute spelling for the second element. The reading しろたえ developed beside しらたえ.