紫陽花

Etymology 1


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From. Recorded in the ' of c. 759 CE with the phonetic ' spellings and, and in the  dictionary of 938 CE with the phonetic spelling.

Ultimate derivation. Some sources suggest that this comes from. However, this is problematic phonetically, as there is no evidence for any classical or ancient verb that would conjugate to adi (modern aji). The closest with this meaning would be, stem of the adjective and root of the classical verb , modern  and , and this atu (modern atsu) never showed signs of voicing to adu (modern azu), let alone shifting the final vowel from -u to -i. This theory is also problematic semantically, as the hydrangea's color range never includes colors as dark as pure indigo.

Alternatively, the initial adi may be from, also used as an adjective referring to something good, preferable, or favorable. The sawi may be from -s- as an ancient possessive infix (see also, , ) and awi from.

The spelling is borrowed from, literally meaning “purple sun flower”, and is an example of.

Noun

 * 1) hydrangea, especially the
 * 2) * 1310,  (book 9, poem 3355)

Etymology 2
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The reading based on the of the kanji spelling, itself borrowed from.

Noun

 * 1) hydrangea

Etymology 3
Other various nanori readings.