菖蒲

菖蒲

1. Acorus calamus; sweet sedge; iris

Shift in meaning from 漢女 (ayame), a compound of 漢 (aya, “Chinese”, appears in ancient clan names referring to very early Chinese immigrants to Japan) +‎ 女 (me, “woman”), in reference to the earliest producers of textiles as a metaphor for the colorful patterns of the flowers.[1]

• (Tokyo) あやめ [àyámé] (Heiban – [0])[2]
• IPA^(key): [a̠ja̠me̞]

菖蒲 (hiragana あやめ, katakana アヤメ, rōmaji ayame)

1. iris (flower)
2. short for 菖蒲襲 (ayamegasane): a style of kimono layering consisting of a blue outer layer and a light pink inner layer, traditionally worn in the month of May
3. (archaic, poetic) the month of May
4. (card games) in hanafuda, the card representing the month of May

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts, as アヤメ.

菖蒲 (hiragana あやめ, rōmaji Ayame)

1. A female given name

/ɕaubu/ → /ɕɔːbu/ → /ɕoːbu/

From Middle Chinese 菖蒲 (MC t͡ɕʰɨɐŋ buo, literally “iris + bulrush, cattail; vine”).

• On’yomi: Goon
  • (Tokyo) しょ​ーぶ [shóꜜòbù] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [ɕo̞ːbɯ̟ᵝ]

菖蒲 (hiragana しょうぶ, rōmaji shōbu, historical hiragana しやうぶ)

1. iris (flower)
2. (card games) in hanafuda, the card representing the month of May
3. short for 菖蒲襲 (shōbugasane): a style of kimono layering consisting of a blue outer layer and a light pink inner layer, traditionally worn in the month of May

Shift in pronunciation from shōbu above.[1][2][3]

• (Irregular reading)
  • (Tokyo) そ​ーぶ [sóꜜòbù] (Atamadaka – [1])
  • IPA^(key): [so̞ːbɯ̟ᵝ]

菖蒲 (hiragana そうぶ, rōmaji sōbu, historical hiragana さうぶ)

1. iris (flower)
2. short for 菖蒲襲 (sōbugasane): a style of kimono layering consisting of a blue outer layer and a light pink inner layer, traditionally worn in the month of May