馬鍬

Etymology 1
Compound of, in reference to the practice of using horses to pull, and the shape of the tool as a horizontal support with metal teeth protruding downward, somewhat similar to the way the metal blade of a hoe points downward from the handle when held horizontally.

The umaguwa pronunciation appears to be the original form of the word. First cited to the  of 934.

Noun

 * 1)  a harrow
 * 2)  a rake
 * 3)  a kind of light plow

Usage notes
The Japanese term refers to a kind of tool configuration that most overlaps with the English term. In certain configurations, it might instead be considered a kind of, as a finer tool for smoothing the surface of a field, or as a kind of light , as a stronger tool for cutting into the surface of a field.

Etymology 2
Sound shift from umaguwa.



First cited to around the late 1300s.

Noun

 * 1)  a harrow
 * 2)  a rake
 * 3)  a kind of light plow
 * 1)  a rake
 * 2)  a kind of light plow

Usage notes
The Japanese term refers to a kind of tool configuration that most overlaps with the English term. In certain configurations, it might instead be considered a kind of, as a finer tool for smoothing the surface of a field, or as a kind of light , as a stronger tool for cutting into the surface of a field.

Etymology 3
Sound shift from maguwa.

Historically, the labial glide gwa was spelled. The historically attested mangwa reading likely arose due to this spelling convention, and then mangwa became manga when gwa later merged into ga.



First cited to 1595 with the pronunciation mangwa, prior to the gwa → ga merger.

Etymology 4
Sound shift from maguwa.



Might have arisen, or persisted, in part from influence of the synonym ; the term is often prepended to various terms to signify "multi-use". Consider the rare alternative spelling.

Date of first appearance unclear, but it would have been before the 1595 citation for phonologically derived form manga.

May be a rare or dialectal pronunciation in modern usage. Not included at all in some dictionaries, and included only as a note under the manga reading in some others.