뫼

뫼 • (moe)

1. A Hangul syllabic block made up of ㅁ and ㅚ.

First attested in the Hunmin jeongeum haerye (訓民正音解例 / 훈민정음해례), 1446 as Middle Korean 뫼 (mwōy) (connective form: 묗 (mwōyh)), from Old Korean *moro (cf. 모로 (mworwo) as in "椵山 피모로" mentioned in the Yongbi eocheonga (龍飛御天歌 / 용비어천가) (1447) and Old Japanese borrowed words for Korean toponyms 山 (むれ, ​mure) and 山 (もろ, ​moro) as in "帶山城 (Shitoromoro no sashi, “name of the fortress which had been situated in Taein-myeon, Jeongeup”)" in the Nihon Shoki (720)). Compare 모롱이 (morong-i, “place where curled back at the corner of mountain”) and dialectal forms 묏 (moet), 멧 (met), 모이 (moi), etc.

The meaning as "tomb" joined in 19th century on the written documents, and now the meaning as "mountain" is set into newer form 메 (me) in South Korean standard. Sino-Korean word 묘 (墓, myo, “tomb”) may be influenced by this native Korean word because of the irregular change from Middle Chinese 墓 (MC muo^H).

뫼 • (moe)

1. tomb
2. mountain

• 메 (me)

• 산 (山, san, “mountain”)
• 오롬 (orom, “mountain, peak”)
• 무덤 (mudeom, “grave, tomb”)
• 묘 (墓, myo, “grave, tomb”)
• 분묘 (墳墓, bunmyo, “grave, mound”)

• Rei Fukui (2018-03-30) 小倉進平『朝鮮語方言の研究』所載資料による言語地図とその解釈―第２集‎, 東京大学人文社会系研究科 韓国朝鮮文化研究室, page 5-8