芋虫

Japanese
Kanji in this term
芋 虫
いも
Grade: S		 むし
Grade: 1
kun’yomi
Alternative spelling
芋蟲 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Compound of 芋 (imo, “potato, tuber”) +‎ 虫 (mushi, “bug, worm”). Refers specifically to hairless caterpillars, most specifically to varieties that eat the leaves of the 里芋 (sato imo, “taro”) or 薩摩芋 (satsuma imo, “sweet potato”).[1][2][3]

First attested in the Nippo Jisho of 1603.[1][4]

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) いも​むし [ìmóꜜmùshì] (Nakadaka – [2])[5]
  • IPA(key): [imo̞mɯ̟ᵝɕi]

Noun

芋(いも)虫(むし) • (imomushi) 

  1. [from 1603] a hairless caterpillar
    • 1999 September 23, “アシッドクロウラー [Acid Crawler]”, in Vol.5, Konami:
      巨(きょ)大(だい)ないもむし。強(きょう)力(りょく)な酸(さん)をはき、何(なん)でも溶(と)かしてしまう。
      Kyodai na imomushi. Kyōryoku na san o haki, nan demo tokashite shimau.
      A gigantic caterpillar. Its acid is so strong it can melt anything.
  2. [from 1690] (figurative) an angry person (from the way that a person may puff up when angry and go red and swollen in the face, similar to the defense behaviors of some caterpillars)
  3. [from 1749] (figurative, derogatory) a dummy; a term used to ridicule a person
  4. [from 1830s] a children's song and game, played by everyone squatting and holding onto the waist or shoulders of the person in front, and the whole group trying to move like a caterpillar
    Synonyms: 芋虫ころころ (imomushi korokoro), 芋虫ごろごろ (imomushi gorogoro)
  5. a kind of traditional toy made to look and move like a caterpillar
    Synonyms: 俵転ばし (tawara korobashi), 俵返り (kawaga-gaeri)

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as イモムシ.

See also

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. “芋虫”, in 世界大百科事典 第２版 (Sekai Dai-hyakka Jiten Dainihan, “Heibonsha World Encyclopedia Second Edition”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Heibonsha, 1998
  4. 1603, 日葡辞書: パリ本 / Vocabulario da Lingoa de Iapam (Nippo Jisho: Paris edition / Vocabulary of the Language of Japan) (in Japanese and Portuguese), 1976 reprint, Tōkyō: Bensei Publishing, entry available at Google Books here, left-hand column, headword Imomuxi
  5. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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