天道虫
Japanese
Kanji in this term | ||
---|---|---|
天 | 道 | 虫 |
てん Grade: 1 |
とう Grade: 2 |
むし Grade: 1 |
kan’on | kun’yomi |
Etymology
Compound of 天道 (tentō, “celestial path; the sun”) + 虫 (mushi, “bug”).
There are various theories for the derivation. These include:
- So called because the insects fly upwards towards the sun.
- So called for their habit of landing on branches and orienting upwards, towards the sky.
Derived species names are generally suffixed with -tentō.
Noun
天道虫 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 天道蟲, hiragana てんとうむし, katakana テントウムシ, rōmaji tentō mushi, historical hiragana てんたうむし, historical katakana テンタウムシ)
- a ladybird (UK), a ladybug (US), a lady beetle (any beetle of family Coccinellidae)
- Hypernym: 甲虫 (kōchū)
- Synonym of 並瓢虫 (namitentō): an Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis
Usage notes
As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts, as テントウムシ.
Derived terms
Derived terms
- 偽瓢虫 (tentō-mushi damashi, “handsome fungus beetle (Endomychidae”)}
- 赤星瓢虫 (akaboshi tentō, “Chilocorus rubidus”)
- 七星瓢虫 (nanahoshi tentō, “Coccinella septempunctata”)
- 並瓢虫 (nami tentō, “Harmonia axyridis”)
- 二十八星瓢虫 (nijūhachihoshi tentō, “Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata”)
Further reading
- Etymology at Nihonjiten (in Japanese)
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.