アイス

Japanese

Etymology

Borrowed from English ice.[1][2]

Pronunciation

Noun

アイス (rōmaji aisu)

  1. ice
  2. sorbet, ice pop; ice cream
  3. (slang, archaic, c. mid-late Meiji period) loan shark, usurer

Usage notes

In the sense of usurer, this word emerged as a play on words, as 高利貸し (kōrigashi, “usurer”, literally “high-interest lender”) and 氷菓子 (kōrigashi, “ice pop”, literally “frozen dessert”) have the same readings. This led to usurers being referred to as アイスキャンディー (aisukyandī, “ice pop”, literally “ice candy”), shortened to just アイス (aisu).[1][2]

Synonyms
  1. 氷, 冰 (kōri); 氷, 冰 (hi)
  2. 氷菓子 (kōrigashi); 氷菓 (hyōka)

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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