龍の馬

Old Japanese

Etymology

Calque of Middle Chinese 龍馬 (MC lɨoŋ mˠaX).

Equivalent to a compound of 龍 (tatu, “dragon”) +‎ の (no2, possessive particle) +‎ 馬 (uma, “horse”).[1][2][3]

Due to either haplology or vowel clustering, the initial u of uma was lost.

Noun

龍の馬 (tatu no2 ma) (kana たつのま)

  1. (idiomatic) an excellent horse, very fast horse
    • c. 759, Man'yōshū (book 5, poem 808), text here
      多都乃麻乎安禮波毛等米牟阿遠爾與志奈良乃美夜古邇許牟比等乃多仁
      tatu no2 ma wo are pa moto2me2mu awoni yo2si Nara no2 mi1yako1 ni ko2mu pi1to2 no2 ta ni
      I would want a dragon horse in the blue-green earth capital of Nara for everyone's benefit.

Descendants
  • Japanese: 竜の馬 (tatsu no uma, in modern dictionaries)

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
  3. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  1. 1998, 広辞苑 (Kōjien), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
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