범아귀

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Yeogeo yuhae (譯語類解 / 역어유해), 1690, as Early Modern Korean 범아귀 (Yale: pem.akwuy).

By surface analysis, 범 (beom, “tiger”) +‎ 아귀 (agwi, “mouth”). Possibly a calque of Chinese 虎口 (hǔkǒu); the word is first attested as a translation of the Chinese form.

Pronunciation
  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key): [ˈpɘ(ː)ma̠ɡɥi] ~ [ˈpɘ(ː)ma̠ɡy]
  • Phonetic hangul: [버(ː)마귀]
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.
Romanizations
Revised Romanization?beomagwi
Revised Romanization (translit.)?beom'agwi
McCune–Reischauer?pŏmagwi
Yale Romanization?pēm.akwi

Noun

범아귀 • (beomagwi)

  1. the space between the thumb and the forefinger.

Synonyms
  • 웃아귀 (usagwi)

See also
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