蝦蟇

Chinese
For pronunciation and definitions of 蝦蟇 – see 蛤蟆 (“frogs and toads”).
(This term, 蝦蟇, is a variant form of 蛤蟆.)

Japanese
蝦蟇 (gama, gamagaeru): a Japanese common toad.

Etymology 1
Kanji in this term
蝦 蟇
か > が
Jinmeiyō		 ま
Hyōgaiji
on’yomi

Appears to be borrowed from Middle Chinese 蝦蟇 (MC ɦˠa, “toad”, literally “shrimp, prawn + toad”).

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

Noun

蝦蟇 (hiragana がま, katakana ガマ, rōmaji gama)

  1. a toad
Usage notes

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

Synonyms

Etymology 2
Kanji in this term
蝦 蟇
Jinmeiyō Hyōgaiji
Irregular

Appears to be a compound of 蟇 (gama, “toad”) +‎ 蝦 (kaeru, “frog”). The kaeru changes to gaeru as an instance of rendaku (連濁). The kanji in this term are reversed as jukujikun (熟字訓) to match the Chinese spelling of the borrowed term gama (see above).

Pronunciation

Noun

蝦蟇 (hiragana がまがえる, rōmaji gamagaeru, historical hiragana がまがへる)

  1. a toad

References
  1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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