also: とん
noun, nari-adjective (archaic / formal)
Archaic noun/adjective-nari meaning 'sudden' or 'unexpected'. In modern Japanese, this meaning survives only in the adverbial forms 頓に (とみに) and 頓と (とんと).
The word 頓に is used in old texts to mean 'suddenly'.
noun, nari-adjective (archaic / formal)
Only with reading とん
Archaic meaning restricted to the reading とん. Not used independently in modern Japanese; appears in old texts.
attaining enlightenment in one effort
Only with reading とん
Buddhist term, reading とん. Refers to sudden enlightenment without gradual practice, as in the phrase 頓悟 (とんご).
「頓と」は、現代では「とんと見かけなくなった」のように用いられる。
The word 頓と is used in modern Japanese in phrases like とんと見かけなくなった (have not seen at all lately).
In classical Japanese, 頓 can be used to mean 'foolish'.
In Zen Buddhism, there is the concept of 頓悟 (sudden enlightenment).
Archaic kanji form; modern usage is almost entirely in the adverbial forms 頓に (とみに) and 頓と (とんと).
Kana spelling for the reading とみ, mainly encountered in the adverbial とみに.
Kana spelling for the reading とん, used in the adverbial とんと and in Buddhist contexts.
The historical derivation is uncertain. The kanji 頓 is conventionally associated with the meanings 'sudden' and 'foolish', but the word itself is archaic and its origins are unclear.